India

Reliance Communications has requested the Supreme Court to quash the insolvency process against it and prevent any challenge to its asset sale to Jio and Brookfield, The Economic Times reported. The Anil Ambani-owned telco told the top court that the value of its assets is getting eroded if these clauses are not removed since buyers are unwilling to go ahead otherwise.

Rolta India Ltd.’s attempt to reorganize about $500 million of defaulted bonds faces fresh opposition from a group of noteholders demanding an upfront payment before consenting to the restructuring, Bloomberg News reported. The group, which owns almost 20 percent of 2018 bonds issued by the technology company, has approached an investment bank and law firms to devise an alternative to the proposal by a rival set of creditors, according to Eric Kraus, a money manager at Moscow-based Nikitsky Capital.

Indian lenders struggling to recoup loans worth about $20 billion to troubled property developers have to contend with another challenge: A lackluster recovery from the worst home-sales slump this decade. To recover the dues, banks are taking control of land parcels and unfinished projects that can be sold along with loans, Bloomberg News reported. This comes at a time when home sales volumes have declined about 40 percent over four years and prices have dropped as much as 20 percent on average, said S.

India needs a strategy to get the government out of banking. Non-performing loans among state-owned banks -- a legacy of India’s socialist past which account for nearly 70 percent of deposits -- have crossed 5 percent of GDP, a Bloomberg View reported. The central bank has restricted lending at 11 of them and forced one, IDBI Bank Ltd., to sell itself to the government-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India. State banks have repeatedly been a burden on the exchequer and will almost certainly continue to be so.

IBBI Chief M.S. Sahoo on Thursday said the process to put in place a framework for cross-border insolvency cases is under way. The government is keen to introduce a globally accepted and well-recognised cross-border insolvency framework, which would also make India an attractive investment destination for foreign creditors, given the increased predictability and certainty of the insolvency process, The Hindu reported. Asked about the status of cross-border insolvency, Mr. Sahoo said, comments have been invited.. and have also been received.

Lenders to the bankrupt Videocon Industries have filed an insolvency petition against 13 subsidiaries of the Venugopal Dhoot-led company to recover their dues, sources close to the development told FE. Most of these subsidiaries are likely to be admitted by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for insolvency proceeding by next month, Financial Express reported. The insolvency petition against Videocon Industries, which was filed by State Bank of India (SBI) in January, was admitted by the tribunal on June 6.

The Hyderabad Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has given its nod for Corporate Insolvency Resolution Proceedings (CIRP) to be initiated against Ramky Infrastructure Ltd, Bar & Bench reported. The company is publicly listed and has a paid-up share capital of over Rs. 57 crores. Judicial Member Bikki Raveendra Babu passed orders after hearing a petition filed by one of Ramky’s operational creditors, Todi Minerals Pvt Ltd.

Reliance Industries Ltd., India’s second-largest company by market value, plans to raise about 400 billion rupees ($5.8 billion) in fresh debt this financial year as it expands its consumer businesses, according to people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg News reported. The billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led company will raise funds through loans and bonds, mostly in the Indian currency, the people said asking not to be named as they are not authorized to speak to the media.

Russia's VTB Capital-backed Numetal on Tuesday said Ruia family scion Rewant will never be in management of Essar Steel even though the rules do not bar blood relations of delinquent promoters from bidding for loan defaulter companies being auctioned to recover dues, Firstpost reported. During the proceedings of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), senior advocate Mihir Thakore representing Numetal said that the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (IBC) does not disqualify anyone based on blood relations. Aurora Enterprises Ltd (AEL) had a 25 percent shareholding in Numetal.

The role of insolvency resolution professionals (IRPs) and their ability to handle day-to day affairs of bankrupt companies has come under the spotlight with the NCLT questioning their decisions in a few recent high-profile insolvency cases, The Hindu reported. At last count, there were over 1,800 registered IRPs wading through a pile of over 9,000 cases. Stakeholders are demanding that the law should allow appointment of insolvency resolution entities rather than IRPs.