For many Indian tycoons, 2019 turned woeful as lenders -- empowered by the nation’s recent bankruptcy law and desperate to clean up soured debt from their books -- started seizing assets of delinquent firms or dragged them into insolvency.
Indian banks wrote off a record $39 billion of loans in the 18 months through September in a bid to repair their balance sheets as they battled the world’s worst bad debt pile. Making matters worse, a shadow banking crisis led to a funding squeeze, crushing debt-laden businesses that were critically dependent on rollover financing.
“Life has come a full circle for tycoons that had enjoyed debt-fueled growth,” said Nirmal Gangwal, founder of distress and debt restructuring advisory firm Brescon & Allied Partners LLP. “Many firms collapsed like a house of cards. The downfall was rather unprecedented.”
The government has also been cracking down on economic crime to assuage public anger over absconding businessmen. It’s even barred some from traveling overseas if they were deemed a flight risk.
Here are some of the country’s biggest and most-storied businessmen who saw their fortunes fade. Spokespersons for none of these tycoons, except Essar, immediately replied to emails and text messages seeking comments.
Anil Ambani
The chairman of Reliance Group, which makes movies to metro lines, had a close shave with jail time in March before his elder brother and Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, bailed him out at the last minute. The woes of the ex-billionaire came to the fore when India’s top court asked him to pay Ericsson AB’s India unit about $77 million of past dues or go to jail since Anil Ambani, 60, had given a personal guarantee. His telecom carrier slipped into insolvency this year, while unprofitable Reliance Naval & Engineering Ltd. faced a cash crunch. Reliance Capital Ltd. is selling assets to pare debt. Ambani is also fending off Chinese lenders in a London court.
Malvinder & Shivinder Singh
Karma caught up with ex-billionaires and brothers Malvinder Singh, 47, and Shivinder Singh, 44, and how. Scions of a prominent business family, they once helmed India’s top drug maker and second-largest hospital chain. In October, the two were arrested on charges of fraudulently diverting nearly $337 million from a lender they controlled. India’s market regulator found in 2018 that the brothers had defrauded their hospital company of about $56 million. The collapse of the $2 billion empire turned brother against brother, prompting their mother to broker a peace deal that was short-lived. In February, Malvinder accused Shivinder and their spiritual guru of fraud.
Shashikant & Ravikant Ruia
After a hard-fought battle to keep their flagship steel mill, the first-generation entrepreneurs finally saw the bankrupt Essar Steel India Ltd. pass on to ArcelorMittal last month. The $5.9 billion takeover was almost two years in the making with multiple legal wrangles. The group, controlled by Shashikant Ruia, 76, and Ravikant Ruia, 70, were also reprimanded by a U.K. judge in March this year for concealing documents. Started in 1969 as a construction firm, Essar Group diversified, investing about $18 billion between 2008 and 2012, and piled on debt. In 2017, the group had sold another prized asset, Essar Oil.
Selling an asset to pare a liability shouldn’t be seen as a “lost asset,” an Essar spokesman said, adding that the group remains a diversified conglomerate.
VG Siddhartha
Before jumping off a bridge into a river in July in an apparent suicide, the founder of India’s biggest coffee chain Cafe Coffee Day had penned a letter that spoke of pressure from lenders, a private equity firm and harassment by tax officials. He had spent much of the last two years pledging ever more of Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd. shares to refinance loans for ever shorter periods, at ever higher interest rates. “I would like to say I gave it my all,” V.G. Siddhartha, 60, wrote in the letter. “I fought for a long time but today I gave up.”
Naresh Goyal
The former ticketing agent who built India’s largest airline by value, stepped down as chairman of Jet Airways India Ltd. in March, caving in to pressure from banks who took over the company. Cut-throat price wars and surging costs pushed Jet deeper into loss. The airline stopped flying in April and went into bankruptcy two months later as lenders failed to find a buyer. In July, an Indian court barred Naresh Goyal from flying overseas after the government said it was investigating an alleged $2.6 billion fraud involving Jet Airways.
Rana Kapoor
The founder of Yes Bank Ltd., which became India’s fourth-largest non-state lender, tweeted in September 2018 that his shares were invaluable and requested his children never to sell them upon inheritance. But trouble was brewing. The nation’s banking regulator, which found the lender had repeatedly under-reported its bad loans, refused to extend his tenure as chief executive officer. This forced Rana Kapoor, 62, to step down by end-January. Kapoor, who has pledged some of his Yes Bank shares in July, sold almost his entire stake in the lender by October.
Subhash Chandra
The rice trader-turned-media mogul, 69, who brought cable television into Indian homes in the early 1990s with his ZEE TV, resigned as chairman of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. in November and lost control of his crown jewel. Subhash Chandra has been selling stake in Zee Entertainment in the past few months to repay group’s debt.
Gautam Thapar
A default by Gautam Thapar, founder of the paper mill-to-power transmission Avantha Group, on pledged shares made Yes Bank Ltd. the biggest shareholder in CG Power and Industrial Solutions Ltd. In August, the firm was hit by an accounting scandal forcing the board to remove Thapar, 59, from the chairman’s post. A month later, the market regulator ordered a forensic audit of the firm and barred Thapar from accessing securities market.
Last week, Mr Modi had not only urged the state governments to take action against those who take law into their hands in the name of cow protection, but also called them anti-social elements.
Comments
Cows need Z+ Security.....
Buffalo's will be worshipped on father's day.....ha ha.....
Can cow god mate on street? Please build Goshaalays before making Sauchaalay......other cow Vidhya balan......ha ha
Mr Pumpwell,,,,,Pls go to Bhatkal Police station, and find out ..who placed the Meat bag in the Nagabana recently..... All criminals.... They themselves do all kinds of anti social acts and blame the other community members...
All these RSS supported goonda gangs are worried of PM's statement. In the name of Gow rakshak they used to make
a very good money. They themselves used to transport the cow and sell the cow. They used to get the haftha from each truck or van who transports cow. Now they worried about their business.
This sharan is doing a lots of money in the name of \hindusm\". These are the real anti hindus. They are spoiling good religion name for their benefit. First of all intelligent department has to check these goons leaders , from where they get huge money and vehicle for their illegal operations."
Let first chaddi Indian army protect our Kashmir, later they are welcome to save your so called \GO MATHA\"."
I really dont understand why GOD need protection that too an ARMY.Being a GOD why can not he save himself.Then how can a GOD protect his beliver's like Sharan.
i thank D Souza but he is unaware that even in HIndu authentic scriptures eating cow meat is holy not an offense
these days criminals are heroes of the nation , definition of nationalist has been changed to RSS , HA HA HA
In Islam drinikg alchohol and selling is prohibited equally ,why you Govt export it without any cowraskshak firewall and restrict inside India , dont you think is a joke , its a created job to kill with licence the humans to save animal , this must be stopped
Pumpwell is partner with Somnath in beef exports ... May be he is losing his profit... but everything will be EXPOSED in near future.
mr sharan quickly go and break the leg of those bjp leaders who export your so called gou matha meat
Dear Sharan Bhai,
Also write him to stop exporting beef to worldwide....
Do you think that government of India exporting beef without killing the cows, in such case it is more painful to Gomaatha, Please don't be stupid stop making drama in the name of cow...
In foreign countries every hypermarket and supermarkets selling Indian beef..from where these beef coming could you ask Mr. Modi about it and to order for a inquiry on it....or let him announce that flesh of Gomaatha only for export not for self use..
If you need more information... we will start a photo campaign of the Indian beef counters in different countries of the world...
We need soldiers to protect cow meat export from various airports and seaports.....
I think SHARAN PUMPwell is ignorant of his own scriptures...
The Aryans of the Rig Veda did KILL Cows for purposes of food and ate beef in abundantly clear from Rig Veda itself. In RV (X86.14) Indra says : They COOK for one 15 plus twenty OXEN.
The RV (X91.14) says that for AGNI were sacrificed horses, bulls, oxen, BARREN COWS and rams. From Rig Veda (X.72.6) It appears that the COW was killed with a Sword or AXE.
He is also ignorant of the indian law too..
How can people follow this IGNORANT & Dig their own hell to themselves as well as their families (Just lyk NAMO leader who was on the run and now behind bars without any bail.. He may getaway but his family is suffering also the family of the victims are suffering. How come these intelligent people does not recognize the evil in this?????????
Mr. sharan,
DO you agree law and order is equal for all. Even if you belongs to rowdy dal or a common man, who gave you permission to assault or humiliate someone in the name of cow.. Be human first then be a rakshak to humans first other animals comes in later stage. Think like a man not like animal.
Dont make your own rules. be cool man..
who are u to protect the cow and take law in your hand
police will take care, why u people behave like goondaas in mangalore karnataka
if cow is holy ... then it is only for ur hindhu religion not applicable for others
need to protect our country and women from rapists then go for special cow , u request to bring the army to karnataka for saving cow.. u r good joker of mangalore
Dear Brother Sharan,
Cows as you were described as 'GOD' need food not the ARMY. Please visit north India and see how your GODS Been treated. Dear Sharan please send some food stuffs to Rajasthan so that we can save your GODS.
Let's stop consuming the cheap Indian exported cow meat
also reminded the PM of an existing provision in section 40 of CrPC that empowers citizens to arrest those who commit cognizable offences.
So Mangaloreans have the Liberty to Arrest Mr Pumpwell for Attacking Muslims and committing many offences in Past as per his crpc40 section?
Viren.. good to see you against Modi...ha ha..
Sharan ....will this letter reach the pm...?
Since govt. has failed to protect minorities from RSS terrorism due to shortage of police force in the state/country then according to Pimpwell logic Muslims should form Minority Army to protect people from RSS terrorism.
He said, It's holy animal. Can some one elaborate how it is HOLY????
Mr pump well if you feel cow is God then better make a round to panambur or baikampady area and see how cows are lying on the road. With food ,
I request all muslims to stop eating beef. Big full stop. We can survive in other ways.
But if we do it..
Will the so called cow protectors promise us they will stop this violence and mess.?
Will the govt stop exporting cow meat?
Will they agree that they will not being another animal as holy god after this?
Lets finish it totally in a decent wAy.
I am in gulf, the indian beef is on cheap offer price now, but still i dont buy it. Its my way of protest against indian beef exporters and govt. any indian meat i dont buy.
Viren Kotian, Udupi,
You need to protect? Do you have any idea about those protected cows in Rajastan and Gujrat? Cows are dying there without food, dead bodies are stinking there and your Gau protectors are not to be seen taking care of them.
Tell your pumpwell to send his Dal to those place to clean up the mess.
A day will come when all these Bajrangi/Hindutva street fighters will teach a lesson to their own masters. That will be the end of RSS.
Good move by Sharan Pumpwell. Why we need to protect? let the centre send Army and shoot down cattle transporters. Anti nationals will start protesting. Let the Army curb the protesters too just like they did in Kashmir.
As per ICRA, Indian Buffalo meat(read as Beef) exports from India to reach to Rs.40,000/- crores in five years reported Business Standard newspaper. PM Modi has to look after the interests of exporters mostly upper caste Hindus and Jains.
Wait a minute....1st of all which law says not to kill the cow...Karnataka govt. Or central govt. Never banned the cow slaughter...... If the law is from ur religious book then it only apply to those who believe in it.... Not us........don't bark anything in media.......youngsters r watching u
First let them protect our women from rapist, law also don't permit to rape or take law in your hand, then what law are you talking about.if you are really worried about the law then allow the police to their work instead of you guys taking law in hand and torturing the innocent.
First let them protect our women from rapist, law also don't permit to rape or take law in your hand, then what law are you talking about. if you are really worried about the law then allow the police to their work instead of you guys taking law in hand and torturing the innocent.
Can any one explain the income of Sharan Pumpwel? what is his monthly income? what is his business? How he earn money?
Eligible for next PM post.
Add new comment