ICICI Bank moves NCLT against Punj Lloyd under IBC
Published: Jun 15, 2018
By TIOLCORPLAWS News Service
MUMBAI , JUNE 15, 2018: The Punj Lloyd Ltd was referred to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Thursday by ICICI Bank Ltd to recover dues worth Rs 852 cr.
The private sector bank's plea was opposed by SBI, the leader of the lenders' forum for Punj Lloyd, on the ground that the six-month period granted to corporate debtors for resolution of debt outside the insolvency and bankruptcy code, as stated in the RBI's February 12 circular, has not ended.
Punj Lloyd's asset base covers only 5% of the company's debt and the 20 ongoing projects were the only source of money for the company, SBI told the tribunal, adding that the initiation of insolvency proceedings would likely halt those projects.
SBI further told the tribunal that more than 90% of the lenders were in favour of a resolution plan outside the insolvency and bankruptcy code and would oppose ICICI Bank's plea.
Punj Lloyd also said in a regulatory filing that it thinks the plea might not be admitted by NCLT as more than 90% of its lenders were in favour of restructuring the debts.