India

Fortis Healthcare, Apollo Hospitals, Medanta and Max Healthcare are among half-a-dozen companies that have shown preliminary interest in acquiring Jaypee Healthcare, the last of the Jaiprakash Group's priced assets to be admitted into bankruptcy, the Economic Times reported. On Friday, the Allahabad bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) gave an oral order to admit Jaypee Healthcare for corporate insolvency and resolution process on a petition filed by JC Flowers Asset Reconstruction Company. A written order is yet to be uploaded by the tribunal on its website.

India’s inflation continues to be sticky, making it premature for the central bank to discuss a change in its monetary policy stance, Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das said Tuesday, Bloomberg News reported. Even though core inflation reached a historical low, food prices remain high due to supply-side factors, Das said at an event by ET NOW television in Mumbai. “This last mile of disinflation journey is proving very sticky, arduous and very slow,” he said, adding the central bank will remain watchful.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has issued a notice to SpiceJet over an insolvency plea filed by Engine Lease Finance BV, an aircraft engine lessor of the debt-ridden air carrier, the Economic Times of India reported. The single-member NCLT bench has asked SpiceJet to file a response over the Engine Lease Finance (ELF) plea and directed listing the matter for hearing on August 2. During the proceedings, SpiceJet raised objections over the maintainability of the plea, in which ELF has claimed a payment default of over USD 12 million (around Rs 100 crore).

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in Mumbai has admitted the Prudent ARC’s application to initiate personal insolvency resolution proceedings against Mahesh R Shetty, promoter of the listed coaching firm MT Educare, formerly known as Mahesh Tutorials, for a Rs 16.64 crore default by the company. Shetty was a personal guarantor against these loans, the Economic Times of India reported. The tribunal has also directed the resolution professional Santanu T. Ray to issue a public notice to invite claims from all creditors.

A federal judge moved to untangle the complex bankruptcy case of a Byju’s unit by offering to rule out the arrest of a Florida hedge fund manager if he helps locate $533 million that the Indian tech company allegedly tried to hide, Bloomberg News reported. Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey, during a court hearing yesterday in Wilmington, Del., agreed to drop an arrest order for William C. Morton, the founder of Camshaft Fund. Byju’s invested $533 million of loan proceeds with the fund last year, according to court records. The money was later moved to a U.K.

The bankruptcy regulator has proposed to reduce the compliance burden on insolvency professionals, who oversee the resolution of stressed assets, without compromising on the accuracy and the comprehensiveness of the information required for decision-making, the Economic Times of India reported. It seeks to reduce the amount of information and data that insolvency professionals are currently required to submit, according to a discussion paper floated by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI).

Lenders to debt-laden Jaiprakash Associates Ltd, or Jaypee, will pursue the insolvency route against the company, putting plans to sell the company's massive debt to government-backed National Asset Reconstruction Co Ltd (NARCL) on the back burner as they hope to fetch better returns for these assets, the Economic Times of India reported. Jaypee, which owes a group of 32 creditors led by ICICI Bank nearly ₹30,000 crore, was admitted to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) earlier this week after a six-year delay.

India’s central bank held its policy rate steady as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election setback raised uncertainty over the country’s future economic and fiscal policies, the Wall Street Journal reported. Reserve Bank of India Gov. Shaktikanta Das said Friday that the monetary-policy committee decided to maintain its policy repo rate at 6.50%. The committee also decided to remain focused on withdrawal of accommodation, he said. Modi’s party failed to secure an outright majority in the lower house of Parliament, results of the general election showed earlier this week.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in Mumbai has admitted the State Bank of India’s application to initiate personal insolvency resolution proceedings against Rajkumar Nandlal Dhoot, promoter & co-owner of the diversified Videocon Group, for a Rs 5,353-crore default by the group’s flagship company Videocon Industries Ltd., the Economic Times of India reported. Dhoot was a personal guarantor against these loans. The tribunal has also directed the resolution professional Ashish Narayan to issue a public notice to invite claims from all creditors.

A group of lenders asked a court to impose bankruptcy oversight on multiple units tied to the struggling Indian education technology company Byju’s, claiming millions of dollars are being “siphoned” out of the companies, Bloomberg News reported. Creditors led by HPS Investment Partners filed involuntary chapter 11 cases in Delaware against Neuron Fuel Inc., Epic! Creations Inc. and Tangible Play Inc. on Wednesday. All three were once affiliated with Byju’s Alpha, a unit of the once high-flying startup that was put into bankruptcy earlier this year after defaulting on $1.2 billion of debt.