Essar steel: Numetal ups ante, to pay dues of Odisha Slurry
Upping the ante in the fight for Essar Steel, Numetal is trying to get control of Odisha Slurry Pipeline Infrastructure (OSPIL) by repaying Odisha Slurry’s dues to lenders. OSPIL is strategically important since its pipelines carry iron slurry to feed Essar Steel’s plant and without access to this pipeline, running the plant could be difficult. In February, lenders to OSPIL had moved the Delhi High Court seeking a stay on the sale of a 70% stake in OSPIL to Numetal Mauritius. Numetal Mauritius had entered into an agreement to buy a 70% stake in OSPIL from Srei Infrastructure for Rs 4,000 crore. OSPIL is understood to have informed its lenders it proposes to repay their loans by April 30.
Sebi looking into Chanda Kochhar, ICICI Bank matter
With ICICI Bank embroiled in a controversy over alleged conflict of interest involving its CEO Chanda Kochhar, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has begun looking into the matter for any possible disclosure and corporate governance-related lapses. Besides, Videocon Industries Ltd and its promoters have come under the regulator’s scanner as the matter relates to alleged “quid pro quo” involving loans to the company by a group of lenders, including ICICI Bank and some public sector banks.
Sayaji Hotels matter: Sebi fines 32 entities Rs 3.15 cr
Sebi has imposed a total penalty of Rs 3.15 crore on 32 entities, including several present and former promoters of Sayaji Hotels, for violating capital market norms, including those pertaining to disclosure requirements. According to a Sebi order dated March 28, the promoter group (comprising 32 entities) had twice failed to make a public announcement as required under the SAST (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations with regard to acquisition of shares of Sayaji Hotels.
RBI may keep repo rate unchanged at 6% in April policy review: BS Poll
There is a clear consensus that the six-member monetary policy committee of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would keep the repo rate unchanged at 6 per cent next week. But surprisingly, there is a narrow chance that the central bank may cut rates in the future, according to a Business Standard poll of 15 economists and treasurers. This is an emergent view, which was missing in previous polls undertaken by the newspaper. Surely, any change in rates or stance is not expected in the first bi-monthly monetary policy review for 2018-19 on April 4-5. But the inflation trajectory has surprised many and stagnant growth could compel the RBI to go for a rate cut, according to some economists.
Centre likely to mandate health checks for workers every year
The Centre has proposed to make it compulsory for companies to conduct health checks of factory workers every year. This is part of a draft code on occupational safety, health and working conditions, put forward by the ministry of labour and employment. The government is trying to merge and reclassify the country’s 44 labour laws into four broad codes — one each on industrial relations, wages, social security, and occupational safety, health and working conditions. The Centre has already proposed the first three and these are at various stages of approval. “We believe annual health check-ups will lead to higher productivity in a factory. Beside, the Centre has been empowered to prescribe standards on occupational safety and health.
Registration norms for insolvency professionals get a makeover
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has sought to streamline the process and criteria for registration of an insolvency professional (IP), seeking to institutionalize this important pillar of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). Insolvency resolution professionals determine the life and death of a company in the insolvency process. The IBBI move to revamp the regulations governing insolvency professionals is seen by legal experts as a “positive step” at an “apt time”. Come April 1, to qualify as an IP, the National Insolvency Examination requirement has been done away with. However, an individual must clear the Limited Insolvency Examination in the 12 months prior to the date of his application for enrolment with an IP Agency.
Financial creditors need to come clean on ‘related party’
Insolvency regulations just got tightened to ensure that only genuine claims of financial creditors’ and not sham transactions get compensated under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). Come April 1, a financial creditor submitting a claim to an interim resolution professional (IRP) will have to declare if it is or not a ‘related party’ to the ‘corporate debtor’ facing an insolvency process. The implication of being a ‘related party’ is that a financial creditor’s right to be part of the Committee of Creditors (CoC) under the insolvency process gets removed and, therefore, cannot vote in the decisions of the CoC.
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