MUMBAI: Lenders led by State Bank of India are likely to seek another round of bids for Essar Steel after the resolution professional (RP) concluded that both offers — by ArcelorMittal and Numetal — may not be valid under the current Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), said two senior bank officials who did not want to be named.

“The committee of creditors (CoC) will meet on Wednesday to discuss the option of going for a second round of bidding for Essar Steel,” said one of them. In all likelihood, lenders will set April 2 as the last date for submitting binding bids afresh.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and Ford India are likely to formalise a memorandum of understanding that they signed six months ago and establish a partnership in the coming week to 10 days, according to several people with knowledge of the matter.

They are likely to share vehicle architecture, electric powertrains, common sourcing and leverage each other’s distribution network in the first phase, they said.

Three companies under investigation by Indian securities regulators after their results were leaked on social media were told to consider internal audits and background checks for employees handling potentially stock-moving information, people familiar with the matter said.

The Securities & Exchange Board of India is seeking improved controls from Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and Tata Motors, whose quarterly results showed up on the messaging service of WhatsApp Inc.

Markets calmed after a turbulent February. Global risk appetite was supported by the growth momentum but sluggish inflation curbed central bank enthusiasm to normalise monetary policies speedily. Headwinds from protectionist US trade policies, difficult Brexit talks and inconclusive Italian elections were balanced by reduced geopolitical risk out of the North Korean offer of denuclearisation and talks.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to hold a meeting with the banks affected by the Rs 129-billion scam reported by Punjab National Bank (PNB) to end the stalemate over liabilities related to fraudulent letters of undertaking (LoUs) issued in favour of the Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi groups of companies.

“The RBI is expected to call a meeting soon to resolve the issue between the banks,” a source said, requesting anonymity.

The government is likely to relax the eligibility criteria for Air India disinvestment by allowing airlines with negative net worth to bid. However, non-airline companies may be told to satisfy minimum net worth conditions to prove their financial strength.

The evaluation committee of Air India, after discussions with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, had suggested that all bidders be mandated to fulfil a minimum net worth criterion, a source said.

Two leading public sector lenders in the power business and a state-owned power-generating giant are likely to come together and bid for stressed assets that will go through resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Power Finance Corporation (PFC), which has a considerable debt exposure to the sector; Rural Electrification Corporation, which lends to development power schemes; and maharatna public sector undertaking (PSU) NTPC are thinking of forming a company that will buy out power projects.

MUMBAI: Maruti SuzukiBSE -1.61 %'s premium hatchback Swift is close to earning the tag of the Indian car that logged 100,000 bookings in the shortest time — just a little over two months — trumping compact sedan stablemate ‘Dzire’, which had touched the milestone in 12-14 weeks.

Bookings for the third-generation Swift had opened on January 18. By end of business hours on Friday, its pan-India bookings crossed 90,000 units, according to data shared by Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest passenger carmaker which is the largest volume contributor for Japan’s Suzuki Motor.

Tata Motors’ joint venture in Bangladesh is considering exports of the small commercial vehicle, Tata Ace to Myanmar and north-east India.

While Tata Motors currently has an assembling plant in Myanmar which has the capability to manufacture small commercial vehicles and the company currently caters to north-east India from its Indian plants, exports from Bangladesh is considered to be logistically more viable for the region and can be cheaper than exports from India.

Mumbai: In an effort to discourage the common public from investing in potentially shell companies in the listed space, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) wants exchanges to charge higher transaction fees for trading in stocks of firms that are illiquid (thinly-traded) or not held by too many shareholders.

Two persons, including a regulatory official confirmed this.

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