60 Firms Disclose Rs 75000 Cr Loan Default, Anil Ambani Group A Major Defaulter: SEBI

Close to 60 listed firms have disclosed a cumulative default amount of almost ₹75,000 crores as on December 31.

As per stock exchange disclosers, Anil Ambani Group companies including Reliance Communications, Reliance Naval & Engineering, Reliance Infrastructure, and Reliance Power have defaulted on loans totalling more than ₹43,800 crores as on December 31, 2019. Reliance Communications, alone, accounts for a chunk of the portion at ₹32,575 crores.

Some of the other companies which disclosed default in their loans include Suzlon Energy, Jaypee Infratech Ltd, Ansal Housing, Aban Offshore, ISMT, Religare Enterprises, Bedmutha Industries, Hindustan Construction, and Bombay Rayon Fashions.

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), in November 2019, made it mandatory for companies to disclose any loan default from banks and financial institutions, at the end of every quarter, wherein the default continues beyond 30 days.

Insolvency Woes For The Anil Ambani Group

The Supreme Court rejected the Centre’s plea that challenged a telecom tribunal’s order instructing the government to refund ₹104.34 crores to the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications (RCom).

On Tuesday, the Apex court’s bench consisting of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and RF Nariman said, “We don’t find any merits in the appeal.”

The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) had instructed the central government to pay back the remaining amount after liquidating a bank guarantee of ₹908 crores against spectrum charges of ₹774 crores with a direction to pay off the amount over an 18-year period.

The tribunal had also said that the excess amount cannot be used by the Department of Telecommunications(DoT) to pay for other liabilities.

Reliance Communications had provided the department with bank guarantees for ₹908 crores on deferred spectrum charges for the 2013 and 2015 auctions. RCom wanted the excess money to be returned after DoT encashed the bank guarantees, but the department sought to keep the balance amount after it has already adjusted ₹30.33 crores.

In a separate case, Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra), part of the debt-laden Anil Ambani group has received in-principle approval from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for Harmonious Substitution of the Delhi-Agra (DA) Toll Road project to Singapore-based Cube Highways and Infrastructure for ₹3600 crores.

“Reliance Infrastructure has received the in-principle approval for Harmonious Substitution in the Delhi-Agra toll road project on January 7 from the National Highways Authority of India. Reliance Infrastructure will receive an enterprise value of Rs 3,600 crore including equity of up to Rs 1,700 crore,” a RInfra official said.

The company said it would use 100% of the sale proceeds to pay off the company’s debt.

Harmonious Substitution is the transfer of the control and the responsibility for the servicing of any ongoing debt of the asset to the new owner.

A Reliance Infrastructure spokesperson said, “The sale of the Delhi-Agra toll road is the first of many liquidity events to move the company towards becoming debt-free in 2020. We are grateful to all our creditors and various stakeholders for having reposed their faith in the business and the management team. Cube III has the financial muscle and proven capability to successfully operate DA toll road for the entire course of the concession period until 2038.”

“Our intent is to reduce the debt further. At present, we have around Rs 6,000 crore of debt but with a large net worth,” said the company’s chairman Anil Ambani, while addressing the shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting.

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