The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has ordered initiation of insolvency proceedings against realty firm Santasha Real Estate, the Business Standard reported. The order came on a plea filed by Vani Advertising, an operational creditor to the company that has claimed a default of Rs 40.77 lakh. Admitting the plea, a two-member New Delhi bench of the NCLT appointed an interim resolution professional after suspending the board of the real estate firm.
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Indian private lender Axis Bank has decided to bulk up its credit card and retail businesses with a $1.6-billion purchase of Citigroup Inc.'s local consumer banking arm, Reuters reported. The deal announced on Wednesday is Axis Bank's largest by far and would expand its credit card customer base by 31%, narrowing the gap with the third-biggest player ICICI Bank.
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Realty developer Supertech has been declared insolvent after the Delhi bench of the National Company Law Tribunal admitted a petition filed by the Union Bank of India for non-payment of dues, the Economic Times of India reported. The NCLT has appointed Hitesh Goel as the insolvency resolution professional (IRP). The company which was under stress and was in the process of demolishing two illegal towers at its Noida project following the order of the Supreme Court, has multiple under construction projects in NCR.
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An Indian-origin soft drinks businessman from central England has been banned from holding a company directorship for nine years after admitting inflating figures to acquire a loan under a Covid-19 pandemic support scheme, the Hindustan Times reported. Inderjit Singh Dadial, whose ban comes into effect from this week, was the sole director of Cali Juices Limited, a wholesaler of specialised soft drinks incorporated in 2019 with a registered address in Wolverhampton.
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The lenders of Future group companies are likely to take the bankruptcy route as Reliance Retail attaches the stores of the beleaguered retail chain, Fortune India reported. Reliance Retail’s move to terminate the sub-lease of 950 Future group stores has shocked, lenders as it will throw a spanner in their plans to recover around ₹30,000 crore debt from Future group companies. According to sources, some of the banks want to initiate debt recovery proceedings immediately to safeguard their interests.
Indian lenders are set to initiate debt recovery proceedings against Future Retail this week to safeguard their interests after rival Reliance unexpectedly took over some of the retailer's stores, two bankers told Reuters. Future, hit by the pandemic, has been struggling to pay off its debt and is fighting a bitter legal battle with U.S retail giant Amazon. That battle has successfully blocked a $3.4 billion sale of its retail assets to India's largest retailer Reliance, citing violation of certain contracts. Future denies any wrongdoing.
With total exposure of Rs 13,483 crore in insolvent Reliance Infratel, China Development Bank, Export-Import Bank of China, and SC Lowy Asset Management have appealed to the Indian government to speed up the company’s debt resolution procedure, which began in May 2018, Inventiva reported. The lenders voiced their worry in a letter to the Indian finance minister and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) that despite the strict time frames set forth under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, Reliance Infratel’s debt resolution is still far from complete.
The government has invited bids from firms for valuing the assets of privatization-bound RINL or Vizag Steel, msn.com reported. The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Jan. 27 gave “in-principle” approval for 100 percent disinvestment of government stake in Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), also called Visakhapatnam Steel Plant or Vizag Steel, along with RINL's stake in its subsidiaries/joint ventures.
The leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP, on Tuesday accused the Trinamool Congress government of mismanagement of the state’s finances and claimed that it is heading toward bankruptcy, The Print reported. Terming the budget as a “bluff,” Adhikari said the TMC was keen to attack the BJP leadership over fuel prices but the state has not slashed the cess it has imposed on petrol and diesel. Several states have reduced fuel prices in that way, he said in the West Bengal Assembly.