COMPANIES MAY TAKE ONLY 3 DAYS TO REGISTER WITH CENTRAL
AGENCIES
In a bid to break into the
top 50 countries for ease of doing business, India may soon put in place a
simple, single clearance process to incorporate a company with seamless
registration of permanent account number, Tax Account Number, Goods and
Services Tax, Employee Provident Fund Organisation and Employee State Insurance
Corporation in flat three days. The Department for Promotion of Industry and
Internal Trade or DPIIT, is working on the next set of measures for improving
India’s Ease of Doing Business ranking by 27 places for the country to enter
the top 50. At present, there are issues on name reservation that is being
sorted out by the ministry of corporate affairs, said a senior government
official. Sometimes, due to queuing at other agencies, clearances can take
longer, which is being fixed. A seamless process in html format is being
proposed for registration with all central agencies, which will ensure a single
layer of process. An alternative to authentication in place of digital
signatures will be established as part of this plan to speed up registration.
The DPIIT’s plan for ranking upgrade also includes changes to the insolvency
framework to make it more effective and to align it with international best
practices, property registration, payment and refund of taxes and enforcement
of contracts. India ranks below 100 in some of these heads, which the DPIIT is
looking to set right. The blueprint also includes an extensive plan involving
state agencies to bring other agencies on board for integrated clearances for
businesses.
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IBBI IS THE COMPETENT BODY TO ACT AGAINST RESOLUTION
PROFESSIONALS: NCLAT
The Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) will be the competent authority and not the
National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to act against any resolution professional
(RP) for dereliction of duty, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal has
stated in an order recently. This will encourage professionals who find huge
career opportunity in this new-age profession that plays a crucial role in the
fight against bad loans. At the same time, this could end the corporates’ delay
tactics by levelling false allegations against the RPs. If there was any lapse
on the part of the resolution professional which has come to the notice of the
Adjudicating Authority (NCLT), he should have referred the matter to the
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) for taking appropriate action
in accordance with law, Judges SJ Mukhopadhaya and AIS Cheema said in their
order. IBBI is the competent authority to take any action, after seeking
explanation from the RP, they said. IBBI recently introduced a bespoke
professional course for insolvency professionals, a move that will burnish the
appeal of the emerging profession amid growing popularity. The matter relates
to Dhinal Shah, an RP in the bankruptcy proceedings against shipbuilder Bharati
Defence and Infrastructure, which defaulted repayments. The bankruptcy court
ordered liquidation of the company. NCLAT found NCLT’s adverse observations
against Shah were made without issuing an individual notice to him. The latest
NCLAT order will surely encourage more professionals to adopt insolvency
resolution as a profession, said Anil Goel. Insolvency professionals should be
provided an opportunity to be heard before any adverse comments are passed is
the most welcome part of this order. On January 14, the NCLT’s Mumbai bench
rebuked Dhinal Shah citing various lapses. Allegations ranged from charging
high monthly fees, modes of soliciting expressions of interest (EoIs) to the
RP’s employment links with the resolution applicant — Edelweiss ARC. The RP and
CoC (Committee of Creditors) have failed to ensure appropriate checks and
balances and failed to implement the Chinese wall concept during the entire
corporate insolvency resolution process, member judges Ravikumar Duraisamy and
VP Singh of the Mumbai NCLT said in the order. The NCLT had removed Dhinal Shah
citing conflict of interest and appointed another person to oversee the
liquidation process.
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IRREGULARITIES OF MORE THAN RS 1 LAKH CR FOUND IN COS UNDER
INSOLVENCY AND BANKRUPTCY CODE
Forensic audit of over 200
companies facing corporate insolvency resolution action under the Insolvency
and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) has revealed irregularities of more than Rs 1 lakh
crore including possible diversion of funds. The ministry of corporate affairs,
which is responsible for implementation of IBC, is expected to initiate action
against the promoters, directors and even auditors in some cases, although it
is stretched for manpower and resources, sources told. Apart from siphoning of
funds, instances of transactions with related parties and several other
irregularities have been found, including involvement of banks. Forensic audit
refers to an independent evaluation of an entity's accounts and transactions to
detect data and evidence of fraud and financial irregularities. In cases such
as Jaypee Infratech, the forensic audit had revealed how the parent Jaiprakash
Associates used the land bank available with former to secure loans from banks,
with representatives of the lenders playing ball. Irregularities have also been
found in case of Amtek Auto and Bhushan Steel. In a majority of the dozen
high-profile cases referred for action by the Reserve Bank of India,
irregularities have been noticed, which also being probed separately by
agencies such as the Serious Frauds Investigation Office. In most of the cases
taken up under IBC, forensic audit was initiated by the resolution professional
appointed by the National Company Law Tribunal although the coverage is limited
to the preceding few years. In several cases, including some of the high
profile ones, the lenders had conducted a forensic audit even before the
company was referred to NCLT under the insolvency process. IBC empowers the
resolution professional to seek an audit to detect if fraudulent transactions
were undertaken, with the creditors also empowered to seek action in case the
NCLT-appointed custodian fails to act. In fact, a ruing by NCLT's Hyderabad
bench has made it simpler for creditors, including banks, to get a forensic
audit. The bench had ruled that creditors could seek forensic audit if 51% of
them voted in favour of the move. Lawyers, however, pointed out that there are
limitations in the law. For instance, IBC only provides for probe of related
party transaction for two years prior to the initiation of insolvency action.
For others, it can only go back up to a year. Between December 2016, when the
provision of corporate insolvency resolution came into force and last December,
1,484 cases have been referred for action under the IBC, of which close to 900
were still to be resolved. Nearly half the cases were initiated by operational
creditors such as vendors.
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GOVT MULLING CHANGES IN IBC TO ALLOW MEDIATION TO CUT COSTS,
TIME: REPORT
The Centre is planning to
amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) to add a provision for mediation
to slash the cost and time taken for the resolution of cases. This will allow
the government to work out the pre-packaged resolution scheme the individual
bankruptcy scheme and the use of artificial intelligence. After a case is
admitted to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), it has to be solved
within 180 days, which can be extended by another 90 days. These timelines are
not followed strictly. For example, the Essar Steel resolution is still
unfinished even though it has been nearly 600 days since the case's admission.
To cut this time lag, the government wants to provide a mediation mechanism,
used by foreign institutions especially in the US. A senior government official
has told the paper that the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) is
trying some things to remodel the code. The process of mediation means solving
the disputes through discussions and analysing where the interests of the
parties lie. The involved parties try to come to a settlement through a joint
evaluation. It is overseen by a neutral person called the mediator. This person
has no authority to impose any settlement. S/he can only weigh possible
options. This alternative to the conventional dispute resolution process is
popular for settling cases in the US. It is becoming a preferable option
worldwide as mediation gives the failing business the possibility of an
overhaul instead of insolvency. The government is also inviting suggestions on
pre-packaged resolutions which is taken up in case both the creditors and
debtors wish to dodge the usual litigations of the resolution process in the
current framework of the IBC. This will allow a company facing bankruptcy to
prepare a financial reorganization plan if it has the approval of two-thirds of
the creditors before filing a case at the NCLT.
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CENTRE MULLS PLUGGING GAPS IN BANKRUPTCY LAW
The government is planning
to incorporate changes to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), in the wake
of the recent scrapping of RBI circular pertaining to non-performing assets as
well as disputes in some of the major insolvency cases. IBC is a recent and
evolving law, and changes will be incorporated. In last few weeks, there were
many instances of lender-creditor dispute, which delayed resolution of many big
cases. So, a review of the existing law is on the card, with a target to
implement it in the next fiscal year, a senior official from the Ministry of
Corporate Affairs told TMS. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI)
on Saturday has already invited comments from various stakeholders in the
insolvency process on making changes to the current regulations notified under
the IBC, 2016. In a dynamic environment, the stakeholders could play a more
active role in making regulations. They may contemplate at leisure the
important issues in the extant regulatory framework that hinders transactions
and offer alternate solutions to address them, in addition to responding
urgently to draft regulations proposed by the regulator, IBBI said. Another
reason cited by the IBBI is also the recent Supreme Court order, which scrapped
the February 12 circular of the RBI. The RBI circular had made it mandatory for
banks to initiate insolvency proceedings against companies having stressed
assets of Rs 2,000 crore or above. Recent developments like the Supreme Court
striking down the RBI circular last year on banks resolving their massive
non-performing assets (NPAs) has also made a case for review of certain
criteria in the overarching laws of IBC, the IBBI notice said. Some of the
areas where the government seeks regulatory changes are Liquidation Process 2016
and Voluntary Liquidation Process, 2017; Fast Track Corporate Insolvency
Resolution Process regulations, 2017; and Insolvency Resolution Process for
Corporate Persons, 2016. Apart from this, more clarity is required over the
role of lenders and operational lenders, as also issuing fresh guidelines for
resolution professionals especially in light of the recent Essar case. The
Standard Chartered bank has challenged ArcelorMittal’s resolution plan for
Essar Steel in the Supreme Court.
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NCLT‘S ACTION AGAINST FRAUDULENT ACTIVITIES: BANNED AUDITOR
FOR FIVE YEARS
The NCLT Mumbai Bench on
February 06, 2019, has held the statutory auditor of one Mumbai based public
company liable for fraud under Section 447. Apart from removing him from the
company, he has also been banned for holding office for 5 years in any other
company. The petition was filed by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs under
section 140(5) of the Companies Act, 2013 wherein certain allegations against the
Company and its auditors were made. Here is a brief analysis on the same. The
company was incorporated under Companies Act, 1956, in the year 1995 where the statutory
auditor was appointed in the Company for the financial years 2014-15 and
2015-16. The Ministry, on receipt of multiple complaints relating to siphoning
of the investor's money, ordered inspection under Section 206(5) of the Act
pursuant to which inspecting officer issued several letters to the Company for
inspection of the books and records of the Company and also summoning all the
directors of Company and the auditor The findings of the inspection carried out
by the Ministry raised various questions before the Hon'ble Tribunal as to the
status of the Company i.e. whether it is an active or shell company, manner of
conducting audit, performance of the statutory duties of the auditors etc.
Without prejudice to any action under the provisions of this Act or any other
law for the time being in force, the Tribunal either suo moto or on an application
made to it by the Central Government or by any person concerned, if it is
satisfied that the auditor of a company has, whether directly or indirectly, acted
in a fraudulent manner or abetted or colluded in any fraud by, or in relation
to, the company or its directors or officers, it may, by order, direct the
company to change its auditors: Provided that if the application is made by the
Central Government and the Tribunal is satisfied that any change of the auditor
is required, it shall within fifteen days of receipt of such application, make
an order that he shall not function as an auditor and the Central Government
may appoint another auditor in his place: Provided further that an auditor,
whether individual or firm, against whom final order has been passed by the
Tribunal under this section shall not be eligible to be appointed as an auditor
of any company for a period of five years from the date of passing of the order
and the auditor shall also be liable for action under section 447. Without prejudice
to the foregoing provisions of this section, the Central Government may, if it
is satisfied that the circumstances so warrant, direct inspection of books and
papers of a company by an inspector appointed by it for the purpose. Where a
Registrar or inspector calls for the books of account and other books and
papers under section 206, it shall be the duty of every director, officer or
other employee of the company to produce all such documents. Notwithstanding
anything contained in any other law for the time being in force or in any
contract to the contrary, the Registrar or inspector making an inspection or
inquiry shall have all the powers as are vested in a civil court under the Code
of Civil Procedure, 1908.
The sum and substances of
the report submitted by the inspectors as per Section 207 are as follows:
1. No registered office of
the Company was located by the officer during physical inspection.
2. No books of accounts
were produced before the officer despite multiple notices and summons issued to
the Company, its directors and statutory auditors.
3. Shares of the Company
were not listed on the stock exchange post its IPO in the year 1996.
4. Company failed to file
the Statutory Returns i.e. Annual financial statements and Annual Returns after
the financial year 2015 – 16.
5. The existing directors
of the Company were dummy/shadow directors of the Chairman and were not
traceable.
6. Statement of one of the
Directors of the Company proved that he was working as clerk and was induced by
the auditor to join the Company as a Director.
7. Statutory Auditor was
not eligible to be appointed as an auditor under Section 141(3)(d) of the Act
as his family members are shareholders of the Company.
8. The Books of Accounts
of the Company was signed by the Statutory Auditor without being audited. No
internal audit system existed in the Company
9. No working papers were
maintained by the Statutory Auditor.
The auditor must express
his opinion on whether the financial statements give true and fair view of the
state of the company's affairs. In reaching his opinion, the auditor must
examine the company's books of accounts and related documents, conduct
enquiries, collect evidences, detect frauds and so forth. Therefore, it is the
duty of the auditor to perform all his statutory obligations with integrity and
objectivity. The Tribunal also stated that the auditor owes a fiduciary duty
towards the entire Nation. In the present case, the statutory auditor lacked
independence as his family members held shares in the Company which makes him
ineligible to become auditor of the Company u/s 141(3)(d). Also, he was
negligent in conducting audit and issued his report without proper inspection
and examination to which he himself admitted.Based on the inspection report, Tribunal
opined that the statutory auditor failed to exercise his duties and has
certified the Profit & Loss Account and Balance Sheet of the company
without even examining any of the records/ Books of the Account of the Company.
Tribunal to prevent any further abuse of power, passed an interim order dated
03.01.2019 removing the auditor from function as statutory auditor of the
Company and permitting the Company to replace him with an independent auditor.
The Tribunal further held that: Statutory Auditor colluded with the
Chairman/Director of company and has given a false Audit certificate relating
to the Profit & Loss Account and Balance Sheet of the R-2 company, without
even examining and verifying the books of accounts, and the Statutory Auditor has
not given any plausible explanation for such irresponsible fraudulent
activities. The Tribunal, in exercise of its powers under sections 140(5) and
147(3)(i) of the Act, passed the following order as final stating that the
statutory auditor:
1. shall not be eligible
to be appointed as an Auditor of any company for a period of 5 years from the
date of passing this order;
2. shall also be liable
for action under Section 447 of the Companies Act, 2013; or
3. to refund the
remuneration received by him, during the period he acted as Auditor, back to
the Company.
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NCLT REJECTS ARCELORMITTAL’S PLEA FOR EPC RE-VOTE
The dedicated bankruptcy
court has rejected Arcelor-Mittal India’s plea to set aside the resolution plan
submitted by Royale Partners Investment Fund (RPIF) for EPC Construction India
(EPIL), formerly Essar Projects India. The lenders of EPC Construction India
have approved RPIF’s revival plans with 73% voting. The local subsidiary of
Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal Group sought the National Company Law Tribunal’s
(NCLT) intervention to direct EPIL’s lenders to re-vote on its plan and
restrain the resolution professional (RP) and lenders from proceeding with
implementation of RPIF’s resolution. ArcelorMittal is also vying for Essar
Steel. I am not inclined to interfere with the decision of the committee of
creditors (CoC) in approving RPIF’s resolution plan, said MK Shrawat. As far as
legal and procedural requirements are concerned, prima facie, they are complete
in all aspects and will be looked into further at the stage of plan approval by
this bench. The plan was considered and reviewed by the CoC and it was of the
unanimous opinion that it was unsatisfactory. Members of the CoC further
believed that viability and feasibility of the (ArcelorMittal) conditions were
not satisfactory in nature, argued the RP. The RP has already submitted the
plan of RPIF for approval to the NCLT and the tribunal will hear the matter on
April 30. The committee of creditors has approved the RPIF plan by giving us
73.17% votes and believes it is, in its commercial wisdom, the better plan,
said Mayur Ghule, managing director of Royal Partners, in an email response.
However, he refused to comment on specifics of their resolution plan.
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JET AIRWAYS CRISIS: LENDERS WORKING ON NON-IBC RESOLUTION IF
STAKE SALE FAILS TO TAKE OFF
The lenders of Jet Airways
are likely to favour resolution outside the insolvency law framework if the
ongoing bidding process for stake sale in the embattled airline does not bear
fruit, reports suggest. Jet Airways' consortium of lenders is reportedly
working on an alternative course of action if things do not go as planned with
the bidding process. State Bank of India, leader of the seven-member consortium
of domestic banks that have extended loans to Jet Airways, has started the
bidding process for stake sale in the airline. While banks are hopeful of a
successful bidding process, they are also looking at options in case the stake
sale fails to take off, news agency PTI reported. Etihad Airways, TPG Capital,
Indigo Partners, and National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) have
reportedly shown interest in buying stake in Jet Airways. The details of
initial bidders are expected to be cleared on May 10. However, if the bidding
process fails, Jet Airways' lenders are likely to opt for a resolution outside
the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) framework, the PTI report said. Under
plan for resolution, recovery on the basis of existing security and tangible
assets would be a preferred option, it further added.
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NCLT CONSULTS CENTRE, BANKRUPTCY BOARD TO RESOLVE JAYPEE INFRA
DEADLOCK
In the matter between IDBI
Bank and Jaypee Infratech, the National Company Law Tribunal’s (NCLT) New Delhi
Bench has sought views from the government and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board
of India (IBBI) on ways to resolve the deadlock in the resolution process
Majority of the resolutions brought in by the resolution professional (RP) in
the committee of creditors’ (CoC) meeting have been rejected and the corporate
insolvency resolution process (CIRP) is virtually at a standstill. In case of
Jaypee Infratech, home buyers, too, are part of the CoC, along with lenders.
The matter was referred to the New Delhi Bench after both the judges of the
Allahabad Bench of the NCLT gave differing views on the matter of voting rights
of the financial creditors in the CoC meetings. One of the judicial members of
the Allahabad Bench of the NCLT, in his observation, said: Due to the
non-participation of home buyers, the deadlock has been created in the CIRP
that may eventually lead to the liquidation of the corporate debtor. One of the
members was of the opinion that all creditors including home buyers should be
considered together, while the other member wanted home buyers to be treated as
a different class. One of the members said: In cases where the CoC comprises
the real estate class of creditors up to 50 per cent of voting share or more,
then the highest number of voting shares in favour of resolution has to be
taken into consideration — when there is a deadlock in passing the resolutions
— without looking at threshold limit prescribed under the IBC (insolvency and
bankruptcy code). The other judicial member of the Allahabad bench of NCLT,
however, said, Lasting solution to the problem of deadlock can only be found by
treating home buyers as a class and their voting pattern be taken with
reference to the total voting share of the class, to reflect the will of the
class. The homebuyers have 58.10 per cent voting share of the total debt to the
debt given by the corporate debtor, whereas lenders have 41.8 per cent voting
share. Apart from withdrawal of the insolvency plea, which requires a 90 per
cent approval of the CoC, most of the major resolutions brought under the CIRP
require a 66 per cent voting in favour of the resolution to be passed. The IRP
took a view that only the votes that are actually cast will be considered and
the abstained votes will disregarded. But the home buyers’ association opposed
this, saying this will defeat the purpose of including the home buyers as
financial creditors. The New Delhi Bench, in its order, has stated that the
government and the IBBI have to take a view on the matter taking into
consideration the larger public interest involved as well as the interpretation
of the provisions of the IBC, given this is going to have wider ramifications
not only on the ongoing case but also on other matters under the IBC.
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'DRT ON CARDS IF JET'S STAKE SALE PROCESS FAILS'
Industry insiders told
that all efforts are on to see that the stake sale process goes through as
planned and is successfully implemented, however, DRT remains as the last
option. Going to the DRT remains as a last option. This is the natural
progression of recovery, if the stake sale process fails, a senior banking
industry source told IANS. The company owns 16 aircraft and some assets which
have already been pledged. The DRT facilitates the recovery of debt involving
banks and other financial institutions with their customers. Approaching the
DRT, as a last option is a major departure from the earlier speculation that
the airline will be taken to the NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal). The
airline owes over Rs 8,000 crore to its lenders. At present, lenders are keen
to complete the stake sale process in a time-bound manner. We have some serious
and interested bidders. We expect to receive the binding bids by May 10. There
is no talk of lenders taking a haircut or a minimum threshold level that will
be accepted, another source said. On Jet's temporarily grounded status and
re-allocation of its lucrative time slots at the airport, sources in Delhi said
These re-allocations are just for three months. This is an interim arrangement.
By the end of this re-allocation period, the whole stake sale process would
also be completed. Even if the slots are re-allocated for three months, the
value of the company will not diminish. It will still remain a very attractive
buying opportunity.
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WHY LEEWAY UNDER IBC
ELUDES MANY MSMES
In
a bid to keep out errant promoters and wilful defaulters, Section 29A was
introduced in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code in 2017. But given the
challenges faced by micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), certain
provisions of the Section were eased for MSMEs in 2018. In other words,
promoters of an MSME could be allowed to buy back their assets, provided they
are not wilful defaulters Given that in small and niche businesses existing
promoters may be the only ones interested in acquiring it, the idea behind
easing up Section 29A provisions for MSMEs was to widen the pool of eligible
bidders. But the narrow definition of MSMEs laid down in the Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprises Development Act 2006 (MSMED Act) has been a key stumbling
block for well-intentioned promoters to buy back their assets. Under the MSMED
Act, medium, small and micro manufacturing enterprises are defined based on
their investments in plant and machinery; for a medium enterprise the threshold
is up to Rs. 10 crore, while for a small unit it is Rs. 5 crore. Many MSMEs
fail to meet this low threshold and, hence, are unable to qualify for relief
under Section 29A. There has been a proposal to shift the criteria for
classifying an entity from the present one based on investment in plant and
machinery to turnover criteria. There was a proposal to bring all entities with
turnover up to Rs. 75 crore under the MSMED Act. Under the Companies Act 2013,
it is possible to classify a company as a small company if the turnover is up
to Rs. 100 crore. A review is urgently needed to allow the promoters of MSMEs
to make use of the relaxation provided under the code, says KS Ravichandran. Following
the recommendations of the Insolvency Law Committee in March 2018, yet another
tweak was made on the applicability of Section 29A. The report had stated that
since only promoters of MSMEs are likely to be interested in acquiring it,
applicability of Section 29A may be restricted only to disqualify wilful
defaulters from bidding for MSMEs. Subsequently, Section 240A was inserted in
the Code which stated that certain provisions of Section 29 A would not apply
to the resolution applicant in respect of the Corporate Insolvency Resolution
Process (CIRP) of MSMEs. Section 29A lays down several ineligible bidders –
undischarged insolvent, wilful defaulter, convicted for any offence punishable
with imprisonment, promoters of companies whose accounts are classified as NPA
for one year or more, and executed (a guarantee) in favour of a creditor in
respect of a corporate debtor against which an application for insolvency has
been admitted under the Code, among others. Under Section 240A, the latter two
do not apply to MSMEs. In other words, a defaulting promoter can bid in the
resolution process provided he is not a wilful defaulter nor does he suffer
from any other ineligibility except the one arising from NPA and executing a
guarantee. But the narrow definition of MSMEs under the MSMED Act 2006 is
deterring promoters from acquiring back their assets and making use of the
leeway provided under Section 240 A. There is an urgent need to address this
issue, because small and medium enterprises may not have the requisite
competitiveness or innovativeness for attracting bids essential for the success
of the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process, adds Ravichandran.
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MUKESH AMBANI'S
RELIANCE JIO HAS 'GOOD NEWS' FOR ANIL AMBANI'S RCOM
Mukesh
Ambani, the owner of Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio), said he would not be affected
by the legal implications of several cases against Reliance Communications
(RCom) of his brother Anil Ambani, but also stressed that the latter is a
licensee and his Spectrum exchange the agreement is still maintained. RCom
continues to be a license operator. They have not paid but that does not
disqualify them (as a license holder) and the Department of Telecommunications
(DoT) is looking into it. DoT has sent show cause notices for not paying (dues)
but the company is in a peculiar a situation where there are court cases going
on in National Company Law Appellate Tribun (NCLAT) and Supreme Court (SC),
said Anshuman Thakur. The DoT notified RCom the cause of an event for breach of
Rs 21 crore in the spectrum quotas. RCom, the operator under a debt of Rs
46,000 crore, also defaulted on another share of Rs 281 crore. Thakur said that
Jio was waiting for the decisions of the various legal battles that RCom is
waging. He was referring to the fact that RCom twice failed to comply with the
fees related to the spectrum and that the battles of the telecommunications
department with the operation loaded with debts in an appeals court and the
court of the first instance. Today they are eligible to share spectrum and use
that network to service enterprise customers. If there are any change, we will
get to know, because it's between the courts and DoT, Thakur added. Jio said
that though it shares spectrum with RCom, it will not be impacted if the telco
moves into insolvency or the spectrum is withdrawn.
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JAYPEE INFRA LENDERS'
COMMITTEE TO DISCUSS REVISED BIDS ON APR 26
Lenders
of debt-ridden Jaypee Infratech will meet on April 26 to discuss the revised
bids of state-owned NBCC Ltd and Suraksha group, which have been asked to sweeten
their offers for acquiring the Jaypee group's realty arm. In a regulatory
filing, Jaypee Infratech's Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) Anuj Jain
informed that a meeting of the committee of creditors (CoC) would be held on
April 26. NBCC and Suraksha group are expected to submit their revised
resolution plans by April 25 to complete over 20,000 pending housing units to
aggrieved home buyers. In their current bids, both NBCC and Suraksha group have
offered Jaypee group's land parcels to settle their debt as well as
monetization of Yamuna Expressway that connects Noida and Agra in Uttar Pradesh.
Meanwhile, business conglomerate Adani group has also thrown its hat in the
ring by expressing its interest in putting in a bid to acquire Jaypee
Infratech. Lenders will have to decide whether to allow Adani to enter the race
at this stage. On Friday, crisis-hit Jaypee group promoters made a fresh
attempt to retain control over its arm Jaypee Infratech by seeking the support
of homebuyers for its debt resolution plan submitted under the Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Code.
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SEBI’S NEWLY INTRODUCED INSIDER-TRADING NORMS RAISE THE BAR ON
UNPUBLISHED PRICE-SENSITIVE INFORMATION
Companies and promoters
will have to be more cautious in dealing with unpublished price-sensitive
information (UPSI) from this month, as SEBI’s new insider-trading norms will
hold them responsible if they hold on to UPSI without any ‘legitimate purpose’.
SEBI’s recent amendment has widened the applicability of its insider-trading
norms. The regulator has now extended the requirement for reporting trades, and
seeking clearance before trading in the company’s shares, even to senior
employees of material subsidiaries and promoters of listed companies. It has
also clarified that if the person who has traded is in possession of an UPSI,
his trades will be presumed to be motivated by the UPSI.
Companies will have to
formulate policies to determine what constitutes ‘legitimate purpose’,
whistle-blower norms for reporting leaks of UPSI and inquiry norms for
determining the source of leaks. These policies are aimed at monitoring the
flow of UPSI and encouraging employees to inform the company about any
suspected leaks. SEBI has specified that the term ‘legitimate purpose’ will
include the sharing of UPSI in the ordinary course of business by an insider
with partners, collaborators, lenders, customers, suppliers, merchant bankers,
legal advisors, auditors, insolvency professionals or other advisers or
consultants, provided that such sharing has not been carried out to evade or
circumvent the prohibitions of these regulations. The norms, which came into
force from April, also stress upon listed companies to maintain a record of
personal information such as PAN, mobile number of their directors, employees
and immediate relatives, and persons with whom such employees share material
financial relationships. The records like mobile number are likely to make it
easier for SEBI to establish a connection between the company and the person
who trades, and provide valuable inputs during investigations about UPSI
leakages, experts say. SEBI had found that key financial details of a company
were circulated on WhatsApp, but it could not pin down the source of
information as the UPSI was available with many senior employees and board
members. The markets regulator decided to amend insider trading rules after it
passed several directions against various companies, including Axis Bank, Tata
Motors and HDFC Bank, to ascertain leakage of confidential financial results in
private WhatsApp groups ahead of their official announcement. Companies are now
required to have internal controls for identifying inside information and
maintain lists of employees and other persons with whom such information is
shared. They are also required to periodically review their internal processes
to evaluate the effectiveness of internal controls and intimate the persons
receiving UPSI of their obligations towards preventing misuse of such
information for insider-trading by advance notice. SEBI’S defence available for
off-market inter se transfers between promoters, who were in possession of
UPSI, has been extended to all insiders. A similar defence will be available
for block deals, the regulator has said.
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CPSES UNDER STRATEGIC SALE ASKED TO IMMEDIATELY PREPARE LIST
OF NON-CORE ASSETS
The Finance Ministry has
asked central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) identified for strategic sale
to immediately prepare a list of assets and initiate dialogue with potential
investors and bidders so that their non-core assets can be monetised quickly.
Such CPSEs will have an option to either hive-off non-core assets to a Special
Purpose Vehicle (SPV) or transfer sale proceeds of non-core assets to an escrow
account to ring-fence the realised amount from the rest of the business, an
official said. The government has already identified about 35 CPSEs for
strategic sale These include Air India, Pawan Hans, BEML, Scooters India,
Bharat Pumps Compressors, and Bhadrawati, Salem and Durgapur units of steel
major SAIL. The other CPSEs for which approvals are in place for outright sale
include Hindustan Fluorocarbon, Hindustan Newsprint, HLL Life Care, Central
Electronics, Bridge & Roof India, Nagarnar Steel plant of NMDC and units of
Cement Corporation of India and ITDC. The CPSEs have also been asked to ensure
proper housekeeping of all assets with a view to ensuring better realisation at
the time of sale. The CPSEs will be required to immediately start making an
inventory of all assets, and ensure proper title deeds are available for sale.
They will have to also interact with potential investors and other
stakeholders, including state government, an official said. They will also be
required to give suggestions regarding the mode of monetisation of the
identified non-core assets. The official further said that non-core assets
should ideally be hived off to an SPV, specially created through a demerger to
hold and monetise such assets. In the case of Air India, which is undergoing
the process of strategic disinvestment, the government has already created an
SPV, the Air India Assets Holding Ltd (AIAHL). The government has transferred
Rs 29,000 crore debt of Air India, out of the total debt of Rs 55,000 crore of
the airline, to AIAHL. Besides, proceeds from the sale of four subsidiaries —
Air India Air Transport Services (AIATSL), Airline Allied Services (AASL), Air
India Engineering Services Ltd (AIESL) and Hotel Corporation of India (HCI) —
too would be transferred to AIAHL. Also, non-core assets like paintings and
artefacts, as well as other non-operational assets of the national carrier too
will be transferred to the SPV.
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DHFL MUTUAL FUNDS EXCEED SEBI'S LIMIT ON GROUP EXPOSURE:
REPORT
Due to crises at IL&FS
and DHFL, the debt market's concerns about the companies increased, and mutual
fund schemes exposed to these groups saw significant outflows. Liquid holdings
were sold off due to which relatively illiquid DHFL papers soared, so much that
it is in breach of the limits set by the Securities and Exchange Board of India
(SEBI). The market regulator has prescribed a limit on the exposure that a
mutual fund can have to a single group. Despite the excess, these schemes are
open for subscription. DHFL papers have been downgraded by rating agencies like
CRISIL, which is a point of concern even though there haven't been any defaults
yet. DHFL Pramerica Asset Managers Pvt Ltd witnessed a 68-percent or Rs
16,000-crore fall in its assets under management (AUM) in January-March 2019,
as compared with the year-ago period. The average AUM fell from Rs 23,595 crore
to just Rs 7,627 crore as investors exited the scheme due to the ongoing
crisis. Due to rigorous exits, the exposure of three schemes of DHFL Pramerica
Asset Managers—DHFL Pramerica Ultra Short Term Fund, DHFL Pramerica Floating Rate
Fund and DHFL Pramerica Medium Term Fund—to the DHFL Group securities hiked
from 7.5-8.5 percent in June 2018 to 29-37 percent in March 2019, according to
the report. This is because the AMC had to meet the redemption pressure and
sell its liquid securities. This, in turn, caused the breach of SEBI rules. The
regulator limits exposure of an MF scheme to one group at 20 percent of assets.
This can be taken up to 25 percent after the board’s approval. The funds have
not been warned of the breach yet. This situation should not have been allowed
to arise. Mutual Funds are diversified instruments and a scheme holding just
three papers goes completely against this spirit. The AMC should have closed
these schemes to fresh subscription, said Amol Joshi, told. At the end of March
2019, the sponsor DHFL Group had an exposure of 29.5 percent to DHFL Ultra
Short Term Fund, 36.74 percent to DHFL Pramerica Medium Term Fund and 29.24
percent to DHFL Pramerica Floating Rate Fund. Due to the crisis, DHFL Pramerica
Ultra Short Fund and Medium Term Fund witnessed a 91 percent fall in AUM and
DHFL Floating Rate Fund saw a 94 percent plunge. The rest of the investors are
exposed to very risky portfolios. And, since these are still open to
subscription, it is dangerous for fresh buyers who may not be informed about
the situation.
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FPIS INFUSE IN RS 11,012 CRORE IN INDIAN MARKET IN APRIL SO
FAR
Overseas investors have pumped
in a net sum of Rs 11,012 crore into the Indian capital markets in April so far
amid easing liquidity conditions globally. Foreign portfolio investors (FPI)
were net buyers for the previous two months as well, infusing a net amount of
Rs 11,182 crore in February and Rs 45,981 crore in March 2019. Foreign
investors have been on a buying spree in the Indian markets since February due
to improvement in global liquidity which was triggered by a shift in stance on
monetary policy outlook by various central banks globally, experts said. On the
domestic front, the investors are looking bullish on the Indian markets, given
the positive prospects of a stable government post elections, said Harsh Jain.
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SIX OF TOP-10 FIRMS ADD RS 98,502 CR IN M-CAP
The combined market capitalisation
of six of the 10 most valued Indian firms swelled by Rs 98,502.47 crore last
week, with IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) emerging as the biggest
gainer. Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), HDFC Bank, HUL, Kotak Mahindra Bank
and ICICI Bank were the other gainers, while ITC, HDFC, Infosys and SBI
suffered losses in their market valuation for the week ended Thursday. The
market capitalisation (m-cap) of TCS zoomed from Rs 49,437.67 crore to Rs
8,05,074.14 crore. Shares of TCS have been on a gaining spree after the company
reported 17.7 per cent growth in consolidated net profit for the March 2019
quarter. RIL’s m-cap jumped Rs 25,957.18 crore to Rs 8,76,585.81 crore and that
of HDFC Bank advanced Rs 6,808.26 crore to Rs 6,23,678.06 crore. The valuation
of ICICI Bank climbed Rs 6,739.51 crore to Rs 2,61,018.37 crore and Kotak
Mahindra Bank gained Rs 5,966.44 crore to reach Rs 2,62,789.40 crore. HUL’s
m-cap rose by Rs 3,593.41 crore to Rs 3,76,106.57 crore. In the ranking of
top-10 firms, RIL was at the number one position, followed by TCS, HDFC Bank,
Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), ITC, HDFC, Infosys, SBI, Kotak Mahindra Bank
and ICICI Bank.
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AT RS 26,200 CRORE, NBFC-MFIS SEE 170% RISE IN SECURITISATION
DEALS IN FY19
Amid the tight liquidity
situation, non-banking finance company-microfinance institutions (NBFC-MFIs) raised
close to Rs 26,200 crore through securitisation deals in the last financial
year. This is a whopping rise of 170 per cent over 2017-18, according to a
report by credit rating agency ICRA. NBFC-MFIs had raised close to Rs 9,700
crore in the financial year 2017-18. According to MFIs, one of the factors
behind the rise in securitisation deals was State Bank of India’s (SBI)
decision to buy portfolio worth Rs 45,000 crore from NBFCs. Soon after
liquidity crisis in the NBFC sector in September 2018 when IL&FS defaulted
on its loan obligation, SBI had announced that it would buy the portfolios of
NBFCs to ease the liquidity situation. SBI was one of the biggest buyers in the
securitisation markets in the NBFC-MFI sector, said another top official of an
NBFC-MFI. According to industry experts, in 2017-18, the volume of
securitisation deals by NBFC-MFIs was low due to the presence of portfolio
originating at the time of demonetisation, which had high rate of default.
Securitisation has always been an important funding tool for NBFC-MFIs, but
dependence was particularly high during the second half of fiscal 2019,
according to Vibhor Mittal, group head — structured finance ratings at ICRA. In
FY18 and first half of FY19, securitisation contributed to only 18-20 per cent
of the overall disbursements. However, this number leapfrogged to 37 per cent
and estimated 50 per cent in Q3 FY19 and Q4 FY19, respectively.
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RELIANCE EYES STAKE IN
JET AIRWAYS, EXPLORES BAILING OUT AIR INDIA
Textile-to-telecom
giant Reliance Industries is eyeing a stake in the grounded Jet Airways even as
it is looking at a possible bailout of the flag carrier Air India reeling under
heavy debt. Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries had not submitted an
Expression of Interest (EoI) to the lenders for buying the beleaguered Jet
Airways. However, the report said Reliance industries may join Etihad Airways,
which controls 24 per cent stake in Jet Airways, in its bid at a later date.
UAE’s national airline Etihad had earlier submitted an EoI to the lenders. Etihad
can increase its stake to 49 per cent in Jet Airways under the automatic route
as per the existing FDI rules in civil aviation that permit NRIs to buy 100 per
cent in carriers. However, Etihad would need permission from the government to
increase its stake beyond that. Talks are ongoing with respect to funding and
the haircut lenders have to take. This is precisely the reason for the delay in
resolution and the consequent grounding of Jet Airways, the report said citing
the source. The interest in Air India is part of Reliance’s overall plan, said
another source requesting not to be named. It is a boardroom strategy and could
be considered at a later stage. Discussions are slowly picking pace since the
interested parties are of the view they still have time. A preliminary
information memorandum was issued by the government in March last year for the
beginning of the Air India’s disinvestment process. However, a ministerial
panel chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had to defer the strategic plan
to sell government’s 76 per cent stake in the airline after failing to get any
bids.
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JET AIRWAYS EMPLOYEES
SEEK PRESIDENT RAM NATH KOVIND 'S INTERVENTION FOR SALARY DUES
Employees
of Jet Airways have written to President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister
Narendra Modi seeking their intervention to recover outstanding dues as well as
to expedite the process of emergency funds for the airline, which has shuttered
its operations temporarily. Cash-starved Jet Airways, which has around 23,000
employees, has delayed payment of salaries to the employees, including pilots. Amid
uncertainty over the future course of the carrier, two employees' unions have
now written to the President and the Prime Minister In separate but
similarly-worded letters this week, the Society for Welfare of Indian Pilots
(SWIP) and Jet Aircraft Maintenance Engineers Welfare Association (JAMEWA) have
requested help in clearing their outstanding salary dues. We request you to
consider the situation with the urgency it deserves and direct the management
of Jet Airways (India) Ltd to expeditiously disburse all outstanding dues to
affected employees. We also urge you to expedite the process of emergency
funding, as every minute and every decision is very critical in these testing
times, one of the letters said. The unions highlighted that a section of
employees have not been paid their salaries on time for the last seven months
and that the distressing situation was also brought to the notice of the
Ministry of Labour and Employment in March.
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SPICEJET HIRES 500 JET
AIRWAYS PILOTS AND EMPLOYEES, MAY INDUCT MORE
Budget
carrier SpiceJet Friday said it has already absorbed over 500 employees
including 100 pilots, of the grounded carrier Jet Airways and it is open to
induct more as it adds more aircraft and routes in the times ahead. The
Gurugram-based no-frills airline has already announced induction of 27 more
planes -22 Boeing 737s and five turboprop Bombardier Q400s - in the fleet to
help overcome to an extent the capacity deficit due to Jet Airways temporarily
withdrawing its domestic and international services. As we expand and grow, we
are giving first preference to those who have recently lost their jobs due to
the unfortunate closure of Jet Airways, Singh said. He said that SpiceJet has
already provided jobs to more than 100 pilots, over 200 cabin crew and 200 plus
technical and airport staff recently. We will do more. We will also induct a
large number of planes in our fleet soon, Singh added.
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INFRASTRUCTURE, REAL
ESTATE SEEN DRIVING PE/VC DEALS IN INDIA IN 2019
If
2018 was a record breaking year for private equity (PE) and venture capital
(VC) deals, 2019’s expected to be even better, powered by a surge in
infrastructure and real estate investments, said a report by auditing and
consultancy firm EY. Real estate and infrastructure attracted $6.3 billion
worth of investments in 2018, led by a number of buyouts by marquee investors
such as KKR, Brookfield and CPPIB. In 2017 and 2018, sovereign wealth funds and
pension funds stepped up their investments in Indian infrastructure and real
estate, investing close to $3.5 billion of the total $12.2 billion invested in
these asset classes during this period, according to the report. The growth was
primarily driven by investor interest in yield-generating commercial assets. Five
of the top 10 investments in real estate in 2018 were in commercial realty. The
government’s focus on bringing in enabling reforms such as the Real Estate
(Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, has bolstered the confidence of both
consumers and investors. Investors such as Canadian pension funds CPPIB and
CDPQ, who generally invest as limited partners (LPs) in a PE, are increasingly
focusing on investing directly. This is leading to growing investments in these
steady yield-generating assets, said the report. Annual PE/VC investments in
India are expected to exceed $65 billion by 2025, assuming a gross domestic
product (GDP) growth of the economy at 7% year-on-year, between 2019 and 2025,
according to EY’s estimates. There is a good chance that annual Indian PE/VC
investments in 2025 can exceed $65 billion, accounting for 1.44% of the
projected GDP in 2025. This translates to a compounded annual growth rate
(CAGR) of 9.2% p.a. for Indian PE/VC investments during the period 2019-2025,
said the report. The performance of global and Indian private equity markets
has a correlation, mirroring the situation in equities, the report said. Global
PE/VC investments across asset classes crossed $1.4 trillion, increasing by
6.8% over 2017 levels and surpassing even the highs of 2007, amid fervent
dealmaking before the financial crisis. Similarly, 2018 saw an all-time high of
$35.8 billion of investments, a sharp rise from the previous best of 2017’s
$26.1 billion. Indian and global investments were driven by mega deals (of more
than $1 billion), increasing dry powder (uninvested capital), and rising
average deal sizes. However, on the matter of PE/VC-backed exits, which went up
2X (globally) in 2017 and 2018, the Indian market has broken correlation with
its global counterparts, which since the last 3-4 years have remained flat, the
report said. 2018 has been one of the best years for PE/VC investments and
exits. 2019 has also started on a strong note, with $11.4 billion of
investments in Q1 eclipsing the previous Q1 high (2018) by 37%, said Vivek
Soni, partner and national leader for private equity services at EY India.
India ranks among the most attractive emerging markets for general partners and
this continued fondness for India by LPs, coupled with the record levels of dry
powder raised/being raised globally, is very positive for the PE/VC industry,
he said.
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FIRST-YEAR PREMIUM OF
LIFE INSURERS UP 11 PER CENT IN FY19; LIC RETAINS TOP SLOT
The
first-year premium of life insurers increased by 10.73 per cent to ₹2,14,673 crore in FY19 from ₹1,93,866 crore in FY18. This marks
about 300-basis point decrease in the growth. The first-year premium had
increased by 13.5 per cent in FY18. An analysis of data released by the Insurance
Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) shows that growth in FY19
was driven by a 39 per cent increase in group non-single premium. Life
Insurance Corporation of India registered 5.68 per cent growth in premium at ₹1,42,192 crore (₹1,34,552). The total first-year premium
of 23 private life insurers went up by 22.2 per cent to ₹72,481 crore. While LIC enjoyed a
market share of 66.24 per cent, its private sector peers’ market share stood at
33.76 per cent. While the growth in group non-single premium did make an
impact, there was a traction in retail and individual policies as well, which
added up to the performance, she said. India First Life registered 39.94 per
cent growth in first-year premium.
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HDFC BANK Q4 NET RISES
22.6% TO RS 5,885 CR; TO RAISE RS 50 K-CR IN 1 YEAR
Private
lender HDFC Bank Saturday reported a 23 per cent jump in its net profit to Rs
5,885.12 crore for the quarter ended March 2019 on a healthy growth in its net
interest income. The bank had registered a net profit of Rs 4,799.28 crore in
the January-March quarter of 2017-18. Total income for the quarter ended March
31, 2019, stood at Rs 31,204.5 crore, up by 22.1 per cent from Rs 25,549.7
crore for the quarter ended on March 31, 2018, the bank said in a regulatory
filing. Net interest income grew by 22.8 per cent to Rs 13,089.5 crore in the
last quarter of FY2018-19 from Rs 10,657.7 crore in the year-ago quarter driven
by average asset growth of 19.8 per cent and a core net interest margin of 4.4
per cent, the bank said. On asset front, bank's gross non-performing assets
(NPAs) were at 1.36 per cent of gross advances as on March 31, 2019, as against
1.30 per cent as on March 31, 2018. Coverage ratio as on March 31, 2019 was 71
per cent. Net non-performing assets or bad loans were at 0.30 per cent of net
advances against 0.40 per cent. The lender said that it held floating
provisions of Rs 1,451 crore as on March 31, 2019. We are also pleased to
inform that the Board of Directors have recommended a dividend of Rs 15 per
equity share for the year ended 31st March, 2019, subject to the approval of
the shareholders at the ensuing Annual General Meeting of the Bank, it said. The
board also approved raising up to Rs 50,000 crore through private placement of
debt instruments in the next 12 months.
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MCX GETS SEBI NOD TO
LAUNCH FUTURE TRADING IN CASH CROP ARECANUT
The
Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) has received an approval from the Securities and
Exchange Board of India to launch future trading in Arecanut, which is one of
important cash crop in India. The exchange is planning to launch futures in
August, in midst of the season. The exchange official said that, the MCX will
be going with a Red Rashi variety for Arecanut futures. Arecanut is mainly
divided into two varieties White and Red. Red variety is a boiled one which is
used for manufacturing Gutka. The red variety has a mix is called Rashi and it
contains all the varieties such as Api, Bette, Gorubulu etc. The traders price
according to the content of each of these varieties. Api is considered as a
best quality variety so it gets more price. Even this variety has different sub
varieties. Gutka makers and producers of scented supari makers are potential
hedgers on buy side while farmers can hedge their crops. The futures are
expected to help as Arecanut has five harvesting season in a year.
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TCS MODERNISES 1.5 LAKH POST OFFICES UNDER MULTI-YEAR DEAL
WITH INDIA POST
The IT services company
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) said it has deployed an integrated solution for
India Post that has helped modernise a network of more than 1.5 lakh post
offices in the country. In 2013, the Mumbai-based company had announced
receiving an over Rs 1,100- crore multi-year contract from the Department of
Posts (DoP) for an end-to-end IT modernisation programme. The partnership was
aimed at equipping India Post with modern technologies and systems to enable it
to offer more services to the customers in an effective manner. At the heart of
this transformation is the Core System Integration (CSI) program designed and
implemented by TCS. This involved deploying an integrated ERP solution that
caters to mail operations, finance and accounting, and HR functions, and
connects its vast network of more than 1.5 lakh post offices, making this the
largest distributed e-postal network in the world, TCS said in a statement. The
integrated solution supports requirements of over five lakh employees, services
over 40,000 concurrent users, and processes over three million postal
transactions a day, making this one of the largest SAP implementations
globally, it added. On the front-end, TCS said, it has implemented its Point of
Sale (PoS) solution across 24,000 post offices with over 80,000 PoS terminals
and has also built a web portal with consignment tracking capabilities, and set
up a multi-lingual call centre for customer support. An important objective of
the transformation is to use the department’s nation-wide reach to drive
financial inclusion and accessibility of citizen services in remote areas. This
is being accomplished through over 1.3 lakh DARPAN 1 hand-held devices that
Gramin Dak Sevaks use to provide postal, banking, insurance, and cash
management services in remote villages, even those without network
connectivity, TCS said. TCS Business Group Head (Public Services) Debashis Ghosh
said postal services across the world are reinventing themselves to stay
relevant to a new generation in the digital era. We are proud to have partnered
with the Department of Posts in this pioneering, mission mode initiative to
build a world class, future-ready digital platform that the nation can be proud
of. With this, the department can offer smart postal services, enriched
customer experiences, and innovative value-added services to the citizens of
India, he added.
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INFOSYS, COGNIZANT SAY
HAVE BEEFED UP SECURITY BUT NO DATA BREACH
IT
firms Infosys and Cognizant said they have not observed any data breach and
they remain vigilant against cyber attacks that appear to be targeting
technology players Cybersecurity blog KrebsOnSecurity in its latest post
KrebsOnSecurity said the crooks responsible for launching phishing campaigns
that netted dozens of employees and more than 100 computer systems last month
at Wipro, India's third-largest IT outsourcing firm, also appear to have
targeted a number of other competing providers, including Infosys and
Cognizant, new evidence suggests. It further stated that the fairly experienced
crime group is focused on perpetrating gift card fraud. When contacted, Infosys
in an emailed statement said the company has not observed any breach of its
network based on its monitoring and threat intel. We continue to strive to
improve our security posture and have deployed an advanced threat protection
solution to protect the company's email gateways, endpoints and network, it
added. Infosys said the company is also working with its threat intelligence
partners to get more information on attack vectors and threat actors to further
strengthen its IT and cybersecurity controls. A Cognizant spokesperson said
since the criminal activity first surfaced earlier this week, the company's
security experts took immediate and appropriate actions including initiating a
review. While our review remains ongoing, we have seen no indication to date
that any client data was compromised. It is not unusual for a large company
like Cognizant to be the target of spear phishing attempts such as this. The
integrity of our systems and our clients' systems is of paramount importance to
Cognizant, the spokesperson said.
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TESLA CUTS DOWN BOARD
MEMBERS AND THEIR TERMS FOR EFFECTIVE CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Tesla
Inc. will bid farewell to longtime directors and reduce the size of its
11-member board to seven as the automaker ushers in a new era of corporate
governance. Director terms will be cut to two years from three, allowing
shareholders to vote on the board’s performance with greater frequency,
according to a proxy filed Friday. Directors Brad Buss, former chief financial
officer of Solarcity Corp., and Linda Johnson Rice, chief executive officer of
Johnson Publishing Co., won’t seek re-election when their terms expire at the
June 11 annual shareholder meeting. If shareholders vote to reduce director
terms to two years, venture capitalist Stephen Jurvetson — who returned from an
extended leave of absence this month — has indicated he would not seek
re-election in 2020. Antonio Gracias, a private equity firm founder, has also
indicated he wouldn’t stay on Tesla’s board after his term ends next year. Buss,
Gracias and Jurvetson have long been associated with Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Gracias and Jurvetson are both on the board of the billionaire’s closely held
SpaceX. It strikes me as an important step towards more effective corporate governance,
said Stephen Diamond, an associate professor of law at Santa Clara University.
I would call this a board shakeup. The trio of Buss, Gracias and Jurvetson are
the heart of the Musk crowd and the old boy network. Maybe this will bring some
fresh air and light into the board. Jurvetson and Gracias should retire this
June as opposed to waiting until 2020, said Dieter Waizenegger, executive
director of CtW Investment Group, which works with union pension funds that are
Tesla investors. Jurvetson went on leave in November 2017, and is just
returning after being away for nearly 18 months, while Gracias faced some
investor opposition last year. Elon Musk and the US Securities and Exchange
Commission have until April 25 to resolve their legal fight over the CEO’s
penchant for tweeting, after both said they needed more time.
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Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
Thanks & Regards,
CS Meetesh Shiroya
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