&w=3840&q=100)
Bank of Baroda tops bidding for Jet Airways' BKC office in insolvency auction
In a move under the ongoing Jet Airways insolvency proceedings, Bank of Baroda has emerged as the highest bidder for the defunct airline's 83,000 sq ft office space in Mumbai's Godrej BKC commercial tower, located in the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) business district, according to a report by The Economic Times.
The property, comprising an entire floor in the 19-storey commercial tower, was put up for sale last month by a government-appointed liquidator. The reserve price was fixed at ₹335.24 crore.
Brookfield has right of first refusal on BKC office
Following the bidding process, the liquidator is now expected to notify Brookfield Asset Management, which holds the right of first refusal (ROFR) on the property. Brookfield has 15 days to decide whether it will match Bank of Baroda's offer to acquire the asset.
Brookfield may expand holdings in Godrej BKC tower
The report said that Brookfield is likely to exercise its ROFR. The global investment firm already owns two floors in the same tower, purchased in 2020 for ₹490 crore as part of Jet Airways' insolvency resolution. These floors, spread across the third and fourth levels, span about 180,000 sq ft and include 138 car parking slots. Tenants currently occupying this space include marquee names like the World Bank and PayPal.
The ROFR agreement at the time also gave Brookfield preferential rights on any additional office space becoming available in the tower — including the currently auctioned second floor.
NCLT clears legal hurdles for auctioned office
The second floor, currently unoccupied, had been sealed by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai due to outstanding dues. However, on April 28, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) directed the civic body to unseal the office and cease any recovery proceedings, clearing the way for the sale.
The asset is being sold on an 'as is where is' basis under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), with all taxes, liabilities, and transfer charges to be borne by the winning bidder, the news report said.
Auction details and Jet Airways' real estate legacy
The e-auction for the property was conducted on June 2 and included 70 dedicated car parking spaces. Interested bidders were required to submit an earnest money deposit of ₹32.5 crore.
The Godrej BKC tower was developed in 2011 through a joint venture between Godrej Properties and Jet Airways. The airline had originally acquired the land from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) in 2008 for ₹826 crore before partnering with Godrej for the construction of the commercial building.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
7 hours ago
- Economic Times
Rising oil prices unlikely to impact inflation: Experts
Reuters Oil prices (Image for representation) The spike in crude oil prices amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran is unlikely to impact retail inflation, which hit a 75-month low in May, experts noted, citing stable fuel prices in India. Brent crude price surged above $78 per barrel before settling around $74 per barrel on Friday, amid fears of supply disruptions following Israel's strike against Iran. "When the crude oil price declined to $60 per barrel, the government did not pass the benefit to the consumers, hence there won't be any impact on inflation," said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda. During the recent period of low crude prices, the government had not cut retail gains from higher pump prices were shared among the government, state authorities and oil marketing companies (OMCs), meaning that current price increases will primarily affect these entities rather than consumers, said Sabnavis. "The risk to inflation remains low, as fuel prices have not changed for some time now," noted Gaura Sengupta, chief economist at IDFC First Bank. However, Paras Jasrai, associate director at India Ratings and Research, warned, "If the conflict between the two countries escalates further, then this could spring up crude oil price beyond $80/bbl, which can put a stop to the disinflationary trend that India has been witnessing".
Time of India
9 hours ago
- Time of India
Gensol group faces insolvency over Ireda dues
BENGALURU: The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Ahmedabad has admitted two separate insolvency petitions filed by Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (Ireda) against Gensol Engineering (GEL) and its subsidiary Gensol EV Lease (GEVL), initiating corporate insolvency resolution processes (CIRP) against both companies. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now In the case of Gensol Engineering, the tribunal admitted Ireda's petition for defaulted dues amounting to Rs 510.10 crore. The defaults stemmed from term loan facilities extended by Ireda for various projects undertaken by GEL. The tribunal held that Ireda had demonstrated the existence of financial debt and default under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016. Separately, the tribunal admitted insolvency proceedings against Gensol EV Lease for outstanding dues of Rs 218.95 crore. A ccording to Ireda's petition, GEVL had availed multiple term loans for electric vehicle leasing and related infrastructure. The defaults were triggered through cross-default provisions linked to Gensol Engineering's repayment failures. Personal guarantees by promoters Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi and corporate guarantees by Gensol Engineering, were also provided to secure the borrowings. Gensol EV Lease contested the maintainability of the petition, arguing that the defaults were premature, primarily arising from GEL's repayment delays, and that the outstanding debt had not crystallised. The tribunal rejected these objections, holding that the cross-default clauses in the loan agreements were valid and contractually enforceable. It also noted that GEVL failed to cure the defaults within the stipulated time frame after being issued notices by Ireda. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The tribunal, however, accepted GEVL's objection concerning conflict of interest in Ireda's nomination of Pulkit Gupta as interim resolution professional, and appointed Keshav Khaneja as IRP to oversee the CIRP process. With the admission of both matters, moratoriums have come into effect under Section 14 of the IBC, prohibiting legal proceedings, asset transfers and recovery actions against both Gensol Engineering and Gensol EV Lease. Troubles at Gensol unfolded after a Sebi investigations two months ago revealed that the company's promoters, Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi, systematically used loans from several creditors, taken in the name of Gensol, to buy a luxury flat, inflate Gensol's stock price, for personal use through their private ventures and for purposes other than those for which the loans were taken. They were also found to have forged no-default letters from lenders like Ireda and PFC to falsely project there was no default by the company.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
10 hours ago
- Business Standard
11 years of Seva, Sushasan, and Garib Kalyan: From stress to strength
The global economy is undergoing an unprecedented period of uncertainty, grappling with growing geo-economic fragmentation, even as elevated debt levels and emerging technologies raise concerns about financial stability. Amidst this, India continues to be a bright spot — a stark contrast to the previous major episode of volatility in 2013, famously known as the taper tantrum. Then, economic mismanagement — as a result of which India became dubbed a 'Fragile Five' economy — resulted in low growth, high inflation, high external deficit and impaired public finances. The transformation of the Indian economy over last 11 years — from having a twin-deficit problem to a five balance sheet advantage — is an outcome of the concerted policy efforts under PM Modi's leadership. When we came to power in 2014, the foremost priority was growth revival. Structural reforms were introduced, including GST, IBC , RERA, and during the pandemic years, the PLI Scheme, and ECLGS to help credit-worthy MSMEs survive the Covid shock. Equally, infrastructure and asset creation — neglected in the previous decade — was revived. Capital investment rose from 1.7% of GDP in FY2013-14 to 3.2% in FY2024-25 — effective capital expenditure, which includes the capital grants-in-aid, stood higher still (4.1% for 2024-25). In 11 years, 88 airports were operationalised, 31,000 km of rail tracks laid, metro networks expanded over fourfold, port capacity doubled, and National Highway length increased by 60%. Enhanced logistics and eased supply constraints are improving the economy's long-term efficiency and augur well for steady growth and low-and-stable inflation in the years ahead. Through this, we never lost sight of the common man — targeted interventions were launched to bring the historically deprived into the mainstream. With over 55 crore Jan Dhan accounts opened, 15 crore household tapwater connections provided, 4 crore houses built, 41 crore provided health insurance cover, and 10 crore LPG connections provided under PM Ujjwala Yojana, a welfare net against the perpetual cycle of exclusion and deprivation was established. Consequently, India has made significant strides in poverty alleviation — World Bank data shows that extreme poverty in India fell from 27.1% in 2011-12 to 5.3% in 2022-23, even under a revised, higher poverty line. India's emergence as the fastest-growing major economy is anchored on several favourable factors, and is closely intertwined with strengthening balance sheets of key sectors of the economy — banks, corporates, households, Government and the external sector. Let's take a deeper dive into this 'five balance sheet advantage'. First, corporate balance sheets are healthy. There has been noticeable improvement in interest-coverage ratio (ICR) of firms, and marked decline in the proportion of vulnerable firms. To put it in a global context, compared to 18% firms in emerging market economies (excluding China), only 12.2% Indian firms have ICR below 1, almost the same as advanced economy (AE) corporates. With strong financial flows to the commercial sector (total flow has increased from ₹33.86 lakh crore in 2023-24 to ₹34.88 lakh crore in 2024-25, with granular data showing strong support by equity issuances and corporate bonds by non-financial entities), and above average capacity utilisation in the manufacturing sector, there is ample room for investment. Second, bank and NBFC balance sheets are healthy, bolstered by strong profitability, improved asset quality, lower non-performing assets and adequate capital and liquidity buffers (see Figure 1), allowing robust credit flow to industry and agricultural sectors. This outcome results from sustained and proactive reforms, complemented by vigilant and forward-looking regulatory oversight. Third, Union Government's balance sheets are healthy, supported by buoyant revenue collections and improving debt sustainability. Government debt and the fiscal deficits, which rose briefly during the pandemic to support the most vulnerable, are back on a declining glide path, lowering economy-wide borrowing costs (see Figure 2). This has been achieved without compromising on the quality of expenditure. Our target to reduce government debt-GDP ratio to 50% (+/– 1%) by 2030-31 (from 57.1% in FY25) reflects a commitment to reducing intergenerational debt liability. The bond market has given a thumbs-up to India's fiscal management and a de facto credit upgrade as the spread to the 10-year US Treasury yield has come in below 200 basis points, and Indian 10-year bonds are priced above that of higher-rated sovereigns. Fourth, external balance sheets are healthy, supported by robust services exports, private remittances, and gross capital (particularly FDI) inflows. India's forex buffers have improved (providing import cover of over 11 months as of May 2025, up from just 7 months in 2013) and external vulnerability has declined. The low levels of current account deficit (averaging about 1% of GDP during 2014-25 compared to an average of 2.4% of GDP from 2005-15), and the ability to comfortably finance external obligations instil confidence. Finally, household balance sheets are healthy. Gross financial saving of households have remained steady, with increased borrowings (often termed 'liabilities') majorly directed to the creation of physical assets. Households are also diversifying their savings profile — the increased investment in mutual funds, equities, life insurance, and retirement funds, reflects an increased confidence and belief in India's growth story. With retail inflation well within RBI's target range (after averaging 4.6% in FY 2024-25, it moderated to a 75-month low of 2.8% in May); robust manufacturing and services activity (India continues to record the highest PMI reading among major economies); and continued resilience in the agriculture sector (supported by bumper rabi harvests, higher summer crop acreage, and healthy reservoir levels), global optimism in India is amply justified. This progress was despite a series of external shocks – the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions, and weaponisation of trade and technology— upending the old premises and promises of global economic integration. These continue even today — while global trade and economic policy uncertainty have eased from historic highs in recent days, they remain elevated, and disinflation has stalled as the inflation in advanced economies continues above target (see Figures 3a and 3b). India's ability to stand out as a beacon of stability has been driven by a consistent reform agenda which focused on repair and capacity-building, trusting in the creative ingenuity of our people to find answers to the country's challenges. As PM Modi said in his first address from the ramparts of Red Fort: 'this nation has neither been built by political leaders nor by rulers nor by governments. This nation has been built by our farmers, our workers, our mothers and sisters, our youth.' From the digital payment revolution initiated by UPI (achieving transaction volumes of over 185 billion in FY25) to the entrepreneurial appetite revealed by MUDRA loan uptake (cumulative disbursements of over ₹33 lakh crore to 53 crore+ loan accounts), the last 11 years have shown the heights our economy can reach when we combine trust-based governance with systematic reduction of regulatory burden and an expansion of public goods. Challenges to the globalisation era today create stronger headwinds than have been experienced in living memory. However, the 'nation-first' leadership under PM Modi have instilled confidence in India's ability to navigate uncertainty. The 'five balance sheet advantage' anchors India's resilience and high-growth momentum, while continued trust-based governance and reforms guide our journey to the goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047.
