If Hindenburg or its partner do not join the investigation, then Sebi may pass an ex-parte order against it, which may be enforced as a foreign award in US courts.
The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has proposed key exemptions to the current listing framework and measures for setting up holding companies (holdcos) and special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) to encourage domestic startups list at GIFT City, the country's only international financial services centre (IFSC). Under the current framework, to be eligible to list on IFSC exchanges, an issuing company should have operating revenue of at least $20 million in the preceding financial year and average pre-tax profits of at least $1 million during the preceding three financial years. An expert committee has noted these conditions have acted as hurdles to listing new-age companies, and they need a relook.
'The meanness of the board statement apart, it nowhere answers the most fundamental and damaging aspects of the deteriorating work culture among top company executives to which Narayana Murthy had been repeatedly drawing attention,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
'It would be reasonable to assume that Modi 3.0 would be more focused on projects and schemes which do not require any legislative change or which have the support of its coalition partners,' asserts A K Bhattacharya.
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Sunday urged Indian startups to keep their valuation "realistic" and distinguish between the goals of the organisation and its founder. "Startups may strive for long-term value creation rather than short-term valuations. "The valuations of businesses should be kept as realistic as possible," CII said in its Corporate Governance Charter for Startups.
The government is also planning to set up specialised Benches for competition law to reduce the burden of the appellate tribunal, which is referred to on all matters from company law and IBC to competition law and the national financial reporting authority.
Buch, under a cloud over allegations of conflict of interest levelled by United States-based short-seller Hindenburg, was asked to appear before the PAC, which is reviewing the performance of the market regulator.
The BSE fined 370 listed companies following the Sebi notification.
Nandan Nilekani said one board member had received two anonymous complaints on September 30, 2019 - one dated September 20, 2019, titled 'Disturbing unethical practices' and an undated note with the title, 'Whistleblower Complaint'.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd on Wednesday said Culver Max Entertainment, formerly known as Sony Pictures Networks India, has agreed to discuss extending the date required to make their merger scheme effective, a day ahead of the deadline. A day after Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) stated that it has not yet agreed to a deadline extension requested by Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) for their proposed $10-billion merger, the Subhash Chandra family-promoted media firm said it has received a communication from Sony group for discussing an extension of the deal which was announced almost two years ago.
Officials said Sebi first proposed to the FinMin to amend the relevant provisions in the Sebi Act to discontinue RBI's representation on its board, as it already has adequate presence of government nominees and in its over 25 years of existence the regulator has evolved as an "effective and one of the best in the world".
When Biocon chairperson Kiran Majumdar-Shaw - well known for raising issues ranging from lack of civic services in Bengaluru to climate change - decided to take on the Indian stock market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), she forced the Indian corporate world and legal community to take notice. In an interview to Business Standard, Majumdar-Shaw called a Sebi order to impose a fine on insider trading charges against a Biocon employee and an external consultant an "Agatha Christie" fiction, which destroyed the reputation of "innocent people". "The order is pure harassment and has caused huge reputational damage to us and goes against the principles of good governance promised by this government," Mazumdar-Shaw said. "We will certainly appeal this," she added.
'It has changed the political character of India by ejecting socialism as an ideology from the Constitution of India.'
The government is planning to draft rules for the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to deal with Insolvency and Bankruptcy (IBC) cases, according to official sources. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) is also looking to fill all vacant posts at various NCLT Benches by August and put in place an IT-enabled system that would use artificial intelligence (AI) for case management. The NCLT, adjudicating authority for matters related to company affairs, was constituted before the IBC came into effect.
Byju Raveendran, the founder and chief executive officer of the beleaguered edtech firm Byju's, said the company credited all pending January salaries to employees over the past few days. This was communicated to the employees in another letter sent on February 4. Byju's has about 15,000 employees. "I know you were told that you would get your salaries by Monday.
Mahindra & Mahindra chairman emeritus Keshub Mahindra passed away this morning in Mumbai due to old age. Mahindra, 99, breathed his last this morning at home peacefully, said a person close to the family. After joining the company in 1947, he became the chairman in 1963.
'Unless the government comes up with the rulebook, the technical requirements will not be clear to us.' 'Going by the Act, non-technical provisions can be complied with within six months.' 'But we need up to 24 months for provisions like parental consent.'
Companies such as Tata Sons and Bharti Telecom, which are unlisted but have listed subsidiaries, may soon have to file periodic financial statements with the registrar of companies under the new provision of the Companies Act. The provision requires greater financial disclosures by a certain category of unlisted companies.
'What's sad today is that there are so many people who cannot find work, not because the country is devoid of that opportunity, but because we are not doing enough in the country.'
Auditors seem to have developed a heightened sense of risk and are not content to tick the boxes and sign the papers.
As the feud continues between Zee and Invesco, appellate body NCLAT on Thursday directed the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to give reasonable opportunity to the media major to reply to Invesco's plea for holding a meeting of shareholders, and also remarked that the tribunal made an "error" by not providing sufficient response time. With the order capping a day of fast legal developments at the NCLAT as well as the NCLT within a span of a little over an hour, the spat between Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) and minority shareholder Invesco will now come up for hearing before the NCLT on Friday. Invesco is seeking the ouster of ZEEL MD and CEO Punit Goenka and appointment of six new directors on its board.
Close to a million small shareholders have stake in nine NCLT-bound companies
The ED carried out searches against two former auditor firms of IL&FS -- BSR and Associates and Deloitte Haskins and Sells -- on Wednesday in connection with its money-laundering probe into alleged financial irregularities at the infrastructure development and finance company, official sources said. The premises linked to the two auditors in Mumbai were searched under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they added. The action came a week after the Supreme Court set aside a Bombay High Court verdict that quashed an SFIO probe against the two companies, both former auditors of IL&FS Financial Services, paving the way for action against them under the Companies Act and allowing the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to take forward its enquiry against them.
Independent directors of Raymond Ltd on Friday said they are monitoring the situation arising out of the matrimonial dispute of company's Chairman and Managing Director Gautam Singhania to ensure it does not affect his capacity to manage the affairs and business of the firm. In a joint communication shared on BSE by the company, the independent directors also said they have decided to retain Berjis Desai, a senior independent legal counsel, who has no links with promoters or the company, for advising them.
The Board rued that its efforts to resolve the concerns of the founders - who together own about 12.75 per cent stake in Infosys - over the course of a year through a dialogue have not been successful.
A new law that defines how companies should process users' data came into force with the President giving assent to the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act passed by Parliament in the just-concluded monsoon session. The law arms individuals with greater control over their data while allowing companies to transfer users' data abroad for processing, except to nations and territories restricted by the Centre through notification. It also gives the government power to seek information from firms and issue directions to block content.
Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) law aims to protect the privacy of Indian citizens while proposing a penalty of up to Rs 250 crore on entities for misusing or failing to protect digital data of individuals.
The successful implementation of the new Act will depend on a much bigger involvement of the state through a huge new superstructure of registration, certification and supervision
'India's manufacturing will take 10-15 years to catch up with China.'
Among other things, the company is considering monetising the Global Village tech park located off Mysore Road in Bengaluru, for which private equity major Blackstone was said to have shown interest.
They are allegedly the owners of the drugs and had commissioned the trip, police commissioner-general Marthinus Hukom, head of the Indonesian National Narcotic Agency, told reporters at a press conference in Batam.
Vikram Bakshi, the estranged partner of fast-food chain McDonald's, will seek reinstatement as managing director of the 50:50 joint venture Connaught Plaza Restaurants, with a plea to the Company Law Board seeking the 'deadlock' in the August 6 board meeting be resolved.
From almost 60 per cent as of December 2019, the share of liquidations in the mode of closure of total Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) cases came down to 44 per cent till September 2023, data by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) shows. Experts say the decreasing trend in liquidations under the IBC in India can be largely attributed to the initial economic conditions of companies entering the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP). IBC experts also say the trend shows a certain stabilisation in IBC with the Code now rid of legacy bankruptcy issues.
Japan's Sony Corporation, which is merging its Indian television content company with Zee Entertainment Enterprises, is likely to seek a fresh forensic audit of the company after market regulator Sebi levelled fund diversion charges against Zee promoters, top lawyers said. The Sebi also barred Zee founder Subhash Chandra and its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Puneet Goenka from holding any position as director. "As the Sebi has made fund diversion charges, which may change the nature of audited reports already filed, the acquirer (Sony) can seek a fresh forensic audit," said H P Ranina, a corporate lawyer.
Constantly evolving rules and anomalies over tax treatment have constrained corporate programmes in the first year that the government's CSR mandate has been in force.
IBC has been revolutionary in many ways and is a formidable instrument for stress resolution. And despite the room for improvement, the overall effectiveness of IBC in the distress space is unmatched, notes Saloni Kothari.
