The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the acquisition of Srei Infrastructure Finance by National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL) and India Debt Resolution Company (IDRCL) under the green channel route. NARCL submitted a resolution plan to acquire the majority of the equity share capital of Srei Infrastructure Finance and its wholly-owned subsidiary, SREI Equipment Finance.
The group has already pledged close to 9% of its 18.37% stake in Tata Sons. After this latest transaction, the entire stake, currently valued at close to ₹94,000 crore, will be pledged to lenders including two foreign banks and several overseas hedge and credit funds.
According to sources, the bidders who have confirmed their participation in the second round of auction are IndusInd International Holdings Ltd (IIHL) of Hinduja Group, Torrent Investment and Singapore-based Oaktree.
Bengaluru-based Avanti Finance has secured $24m from investors including Rabo Partnerships, Oikocredit, NRJN Trust and IDH Farmfit Fund. The funds will provide support for the company to provide affordable and localised credit products for smallholder farmers in India. More than 180 specialised loan products have already been created, with the investment also supporting remote customer interactions and partnerships with financial institutions for capital efficiency; Avanti aims to increase the number of served households to 1.5 million within two years, with an AUM of over INR25bn ($336m).
The IL&FS Group has paid back Rs 29,000 crore to secured creditors, with an interim pay-out of Rs 920 crore for subsidiary Chenani Nashri Tunnelway, taking the total to Rs 6,019 crore in fiscal 2023. IL&FS has completed interim payouts for Rapid Metro Gurgaon Ltd, Rapid Metrorail Gurgaon South Ltd and IL&FS Financial Services for eligible financial creditors.
The latest data from Reserve Bank of India shows a rise in bank credit across all sectors. On a year-on-year basis, non-food bank credit rose 15.9% in February 2023 compared to 9.2% a year ago. The increase in repo rates have not drastically affected the pace of credit growth, according to chief economist at Bank of Baroda, Madan Sabnavis. Credit growth in the retail sector accelerated to 20.4% YoY, driven by housing loans. Credit growth in the services sector improved significantly to 20.7% YoY, primarily due to higher loans to Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs).
India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has collaborated with Bharti Airtel to launch banking services through WhatsApp. The IPPB WhatsApp Banking will allow easy banking services including doorstep service requests and Post Office location tracking for customers. IPPB and Airtel IQ will ensure multi-language support and real-time customer support agents on WhatsApp to provide quick solutions for customer queries.
Delinquencies of advances overdue for over 90 days by value declined 1.7 per cent while as a percentage of overall advances, it was at 2 per cent at the end of December 2022 as against 2.7 per cent in the year-ago period. The coronavirus pandemic had impacted the microfinance sector as field agents were unable to visit borrowers to extend loans and also ensure timely repayments.
"Authum has transferred the requisite amounts to secured creditors and the business transaction agreement has been signed by lenders to hand over the assets to them. This brings an end to a process which began almost three years ago," said a person familiar with the deal.