Chanda Kochhar, who was arrested for a cash-for-loan scam on Friday, was once a powerful banker and instrumental in making ICICI Bank the country's biggest private sector lender. Kochhar, a regular feature on Forbes top global honchos lists, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) along with her husband Deepak Kochhar in connection with alleged cheating and irregularities in loans sanctioned by ICICI Bank to Videocon Group companies. Kochhars were called to the agency headquarters and arrested after a brief questioning session. Her chapter at ICICI Bank ended abruptly in 2018 when the board of directors approved a request from Kochhar to seek early retirement following allegation of corruption and quid pro-quo while extending loans to the now bankrupt Videocon Industries.
The government has recapitalised public sector banks (PSBs) by infusing over Rs 3.10 lakh crore in the last five fiscals, a majority of which was through issuance of recapitalisation bonds, Parliament was informed on Monday. "Government has infused Rs 3,10,997 crore to recapitalise banks during the last five financial years i.e., from 2016-17 to 2020-21, out of which Rs 34,997 crore were sourced through budgetary allocation and Rs 2,76,000 crore through issuance of recapitalisation bonds to these banks," Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. He was responding to a host of questions asked by Congress party's Member of Parliament Manish Tewari.
He supervised and handled several major big ticket insolvency cases that includes Essar Steel, Bhushan Power & Steel, Bhushan Steel, Jaypee Infratech, ElectroSteel Steel, Binani Cement, Reliance Communications.
Among India's capital-starved local banks, Essar is viewed as too big to fail.
Meanwhile, with China switching its trading partners due to geo-political issues, increased trade with South Africa for bauxite and with the US for coal is also auguring well for vessels with tonne miles going up.
Coal production by Coal India (CIL) has grown slower than the captive mines, awarded over the last six years. During 2020-22, production from the captive mines jumped by 38.5 per cent while CIL saw a tepid growth of 3.4 per cent, according to government data. In terms of dispatch to the power sector, captive mines have raced ahead, witnessing a growth of 72 per cent compared to 15 per cent for CIL. For the current fiscal year, CIL's production is expected to be around 565 million tonnes.
ArcelorMittal could be interested in Bhushan Steel or Essar Steel, two of the five steel companies referred by RBI for insolvency proceedings.
The much-talked-about sale of Ambuja Cement and ACC by Holcim Group will see the single-biggest outflow of foreign capital from the country if the two cement firms are acquired by Indian investors. The deal, valued at nearly $10.35 billion, will put in the shade Cairn Energy Plc's exit from India in 2010, when it sold Cairn India to Vedanta Group for $4.48 billion. According to various reports, big business groups such as AV Birla, JSW Group, and Adani Group are in the fray to acquire Holcim's assets in India.
The turnaround of SAIL from several quarters of losses was one of the most challenging experience, said Anil Kumar Chaudhary, the outgoing chairman of the country's largest steel maker. The chairman said he also wants to see SAIL paying back at least 50 per cent of its debt in the near future. Chaudhary who had joined SAIL as a junior manager in 1984 would be superannuating from the top post on December 31, 2020 after serving the company for almost 36 years in various roles.
While the collapse of a large financial intermediary can wreak havoc on the system because of the interconnectivity, a large business conglomerate too can play spoilsport if the banks have too much exposure to the entity, explains Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
As fuel prices surged in September, the government's decision to ask companies to cut price by Rs1 each on a litre of petrol and diesel came as a dampner for private players.
'It has taken us 15 years to get to where we are. It obviously doesn't happen overnight.'
The amendments give committee of creditors of a loan defaulting company explicit authority over the distribution of proceeds in the resolution process and fixes a firm timeline of 330 days for resolving cases referred to the IBC.
Vodafone further said it has "always been confident" that no tax is due on the company. The government in August enacted a law to end all retrospective taxation imposed on indirect transfer of Indian assets. The rules under the law seek to withdraw tax demands made using a 2012 retrospective legislation to tax the indirect transfer of Indian assets and also refund the amount paid in these cases without any interest. Asked if the company has filed an application with the Indian government to settle the retrospective tax dispute, a Vodafone spokesperson said, "We can confirm we have filed an application".
Shareholder advisory companies are raising eyebrows at the ICICI Bank board not being aware of Firstland's investment in NuPower
The Essar group, Jindal Steel and Power, Monnet Ispat, Bhushan Steel and the Avantha group have been asked to close deals by March-end.
The first phase will end in 2018 and have the world's largest terminal under one roofThe first phase will end in 2018 and have the world's largest terminal under one roof
The closure of BPSL would add about three million tonnes capacity to JSW Steel's existing 18 million tonnes.
Global telecom major Vodafone's minority partner in India, Analjit Singh, may take over as the chairman of the group's Indian operations, after Essar group exits the venture.
Cross previous high of $72 billion in 2007 as Indian promoters overcome the selling taboo. Abhineet Kumar reports from Mumbai.
At least half a dozen national and international oil giants, including Reliance and Royal Dutch Shell, joined the race, on Friday, for acquiring government's 34 per cent stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.
The Essar Oil, Rosneft deal also helped Arpwood Capital, boutique investment bank, co-founded by Rajeev Gupta and Raj Kataria, to grab the second spot in the mergers and acquisitions league table.
Bankruptcy proceedings are going at a slower pace than what the bankers had envisaged and many cases have gone beyond the 270-day timeline set under the IBC mainly because of litigation.
Forest land measuring 1838.79 hectares in Odisha has been diverted for 15 industrial projects in the state between 2004 and 2013.
The exposure, which is for the period ended September 2019, is across various platforms such as life funds, pension funds, and unit-linked funds.
Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to Soni Sori, a tribal teacher, and journalist Lingaram Kodopi in a case lodged against them for allegedly receiving money from Essar Group on behalf of Maoists.
Apart from INX Media and Aircel-Maxis, the four other firms which are under the scanner are Diageo Scotland, Essar Steel, Katara Holdings and Elforge Ltd. These firms were granted FIPB approval when Chidambaram was the FM, reports Shrimi Choudhary.
Vodafone chief executive Arun Sarin has arrived in the country to attend Hutch-Essar's board meeting slated to take place on Friday.
Cash-strapped telco Vodafone Idea's proposal for investment of up to Rs 15,000 crore through foreign direct investment (FDI) has been approved by the Union government, according to officials. A top-level group, comprising representatives from the ministries of home affairs, external affairs, finance and commerce and industry, took the decision. The nod, which is an enabling provision, would help the financially-stressed company raise funds to pay up some of its dues linked to adjusted gross revenue (AGR), reduce debts and use the money for operational expenses.
Hutchison Essar is an Indian Company, the controlling interest of Hutchison Essar is held by an SPV of Cayman Island (CGP Investments Holding Ltd). CGP is owned by Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd (HTIL), Hong Kong.
Hutchison holds a 52 percent stake in Hutchison Essar and the Ruias-promoted Essar group 33 percent, while the rest is held by Analjit Singh of Max India and Hutchison Essar CEO Asim Ghosh.
Once Bhushan Steel is into its fold, Tata Steel will increase its capacity from 12.7 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 18.3 mtpa
Tribal teacher Soni Sori and her activist-nephew Lingaram Kodopi were released from Jagdalpur jail on Thursday after the Supreme Court granted them bail following their arrest two years ago for allegedly receiving money on behalf of Maoists from a corporate house in Chhattisgarh.
Vodafone Essar on Thursday said it has crossed the 100-million subscriber mark in India, becoming the third mobile operator in the country to do so after rivals Bharti Airtel and Reliance communications.
The UK group bought a 52 per cent stake in the Indian company in May, which is now called Vodafone Essar. Mumbai-based Essar Group owns 33 per cent, with Asim Ghosh, Vodafone Essar managing director, and Indian businessman Analjit Singh owning the remaining 15 per cent.
The clarification comes a day after Vodafone signed a shareholders' agreement with the Essar group.
Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin on Thursday met key members of the Ruia family, as part of efforts to woo the Essar Group to ensure smooth sailing of mobile venture Hutch-Essar, where the UK company is acquiring majority stake.
The Ruias of Essar have informed merchant bankers that they have 'veto powers' to prevent any buyer of Hutchison Whampoa's 67 per cent stake in Hutchison-Essar from using its own brand name.
