GVK Power and Infrastructure Ltd faces insolvency proceedings
New Delhi, Jul 16: GVK Power and Infrastructure Ltd (GVKPIL) will face insolvency proceedings for failure to pay loans to lenders, a corporate insolvency court has said.
The Hyderabad bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) issued the order on a petition of lenders' group led by ICICI Bank Ltd, GVKPIL said in a stock exchange filing.
The loan was originally availed of by GVK Coal Developers (Singapore) Pte Ltd over a decade ago, for which GVKPIL acted as a guarantor.
The NCLT bench issued the order on July 12, which was made public on Monday. The petition was filed by ICICI Bank in 2022.
NCLT appointed Satish Kumar Gupta as an interim resolution professional for managing the company during pendency of the insolvency.
"The corporate debtor has acknowledged its liabilities and admitted the factum of corporate guarantee in its annual reports for the FYs 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21. As on June 13, 2022, the borrower was liable to pay USD 1.84 billion comprising principal amount of USD 1.13 billion, interest of USD 731.57 million and agency fee of USD 144,000," according to the NCLT order, which was made public by GVKPIL in the stock exchange filing.
Senior counsel K Vivek Reddy, representing ICICI, referenced a London court judgment from October of the previous year to support the insolvency proceedings against GVKPIL.
"The first default occurred in February 2017 and remains unresolved. GVKPIL, as the guarantor for the loan taken by GVK Coal, is liable. The London court confirmed this liability, and given GVK's failure to make any payments, bankruptcy is the necessary course of action," he stated.
In September 2011, ICICI Bank (Dubai, Bahrain, and Singapore branches), along with Bank of Baroda (Ras Al Khaimah), Bank of India (London and Singapore), and Canara Bank (London), sanctioned a term loan facility of Rs 8,356 crore and a letter of credit for Rs 292 crore to GVK Coal for acquiring coal mines in Australia.
Additional term loans of Rs 367 crore were sanctioned by other banks in March 2014 that was later increased to Rs 2,089 crore.
In March 2016, ICICI Bank discovered that GVK Group intended to sell its stake in Bangalore International Airport Ltd without lender consent, violating the facility agreements.
The banks filed an injunction application in a London court in April 2016, where GVK undertook not to sell its stake in Bengaluru airport.
Due to continued nonpayment of the loan, the lender banks filed claims before the London court for Rs 5,915 crore under facility agreement-I and Rs 1,236 crore under facility agreement-II.
In November 2020, ICICI Bank invoked its corporate guarantee, demanding Rs 5,000 crore towards principal and interest from GVKPIL.
GVKPIL expressed its inability to honour the payments but committed to repay after negotiating a solution with the Adani Group, requesting the bank to refrain from taking action, according to the order.
However, ICICI Bank proceeded to approach the NCLT in 2022 to initiate insolvency proceedings against GVKPIL. On July 12, the NCLT determined that as of June 13, 2022, GVKPIL was liable for Rs 15,576 crore, comprising Rs 9,463 crore in principal, Rs 6,113 crore in interest, and Rs 1.23 crore in agency fees.
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Jay Shah elected unopposed as next ICC chairman
Dubai, Aug 27: BCCI secretary Jay Shah will take over as the next ICC chairman on December 1 after being elected unopposed for the top post here on Tuesday, making him the fifth Indian to reach the pinnacle of global cricket administration.
The 35-year-old Shah, who has been the BCCI secretary since 2019, will take over from 62-year-old incumbent Greg Barclay after the New Zealander decided against running for a third consecutive term of two years.
Shah, who is the son of union home minister Amit Shah, will relinquish his position in India at the BCCI's Annual General Meeting likely to be held towards the end of next month or in October.
Shah became the youngest Indian among late Jagmohan Dalmiya, Sharad Pawar, N Srinivasan and Shashank Manohar to take over high-profile job.
The Ahmedabad-based administrator, who was the sole nominee for the chairmanship, emphasised his commitment to expanding the global reach and popularity of cricket, especially with its upcoming inclusion in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
"I am humbled by the nomination as the Chair of the International Cricket Council," Shah stated in an ICC release.
He also acknowledged that international cricket stands at a critical juncture and it would be important to balance the coexistence of multiple formats, promote the adoption of advanced technologies, and introduce marquee events to new global markets.
"I am committed to working closely with the ICC team and our member nations to further globalise cricket. Our goal is to make cricket more inclusive and popular than ever before," he was quoted as saying in the release.
Being a powerful decision-maker in the richest cricket board of the world, which contributes more than 75 per cent of the revenue for the global body, Shah's election was never in doubt once he threw his hat in the ring.
It is understood that one among the powerful SENA cricket boards (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) was Shah's proposer and another one of these countries seconded the nomination. And he remained the lone contender on the last day of nominations.
As per the ICC constitution, there are 17 votes -- 12 full Test playing nations, chairman, deputy chairman, two associate member nominees and one independent female director.
That he is a likely choice was evident when he was appointed the head of ICC's most powerful sub-committee -- the Finance and Commercial Affairs (F&CA) in 2022.
The timing couldn't have been better for Shah, who would have had to go on a mandatory cooling off period in 2025 for a period of three years till 2028.
The BCCI constitution allows office-bearers to stay in office for a cumulative period of 18 years -- nine in national board and nine in state units.
But at a stretch, a person can remain office-bearer for a period of only six years after which a three-years cooling off period is necessary.
Shah, if all goes well, can have two terms in the ICC and come back to complete his remaining four years in BCCI in 2028 albeit as president of the board.
