The Weekend Leader - Altico Capital defaults on interest obligation to Mashreqbank

Altico Capital defaults on interest obligation to Mashreqbank

Mumbai

12-September-2019

NBFC Altico Capital India has defaulted on the interest payment obligation on External Commercial Borrowing availed from the UAE-based Mashreqbank.

According to a regulatory filing, the NBFC has defaulted on the gross principal amount of Rs 340 crore. The interest payment comes to Rs 19.97 crore.

"Our failure to repay the amounts set out above may result in an acceleration of interest repayment or redemption obligations in respect of non-convertible debt securities issued by us and may trigger a default in their timely repayments," the company said in a statement.

"We are evaluating options for resolving the liquidity crisis and will be engaging in discussions with various stakeholders for the same."

The company's total borrowings from banks or financial institutions stood at Rs 4,361.55 crore as on September 12.

Besides, the development comes just a day after a report surfaced that said the company's Chairman Naina Lal Kidwai is understood to have stepped down.

Kidwai was the former Country Head and Group General Manager of HSBC India.

Altico Capital India was incorporated in January, 2004. The NBFC's shareholders include Clearwater Capital Partners, Abu Dhabi Investment Council and Varde Partners.

The company focuses on senior secured lending to mid-income residential projects and Commercial Real Estate sector across Tier-1 cities in India which include Mumbai, NCR, Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad.

Earlier in the month, India Ratings and Research had downgraded Altico's long-term issuer rating to IND A+' from IND AA-' and short-term Issuer rating to IND A1' from IND A1+'.

The ratings agency gave a negative outlook.

"The revision takes into account the continued pressure on the real estate sector, which has resulted in a weakened operating environment for the construction lending business, the stretched working capital cycle for real estate borrowers, which has led to volatile delinquencies, tighter funding, which has resulted in wider spreads, and diluted on-balance sheet liquidity buffers," the ratings agency had said.

"While the company is diversifying its portfolio both in terms of sectors and ticket size, it is likely to be reflected in the performance only gradually."IANS 



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