Latest news with #PerformanceGuarantee
Hans India
04-07-2025
- Business
- Hans India
IL&FS taps NCLT doors against Brookfield bid
Mumbai: The Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) has approached the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to scrap the Canadian asset management firm Brookfield's Rs1,080-crore bid for its flagship BandraKurla Complex property. IL&FS filed a petition in NCLT Mumbai bench on June 26, seeking to dismiss the Brookfield-backed bid for its flagship BKC property, the IL&FS Financial Centre (TIFC), citing bidder disqualification and non-compliance with bidding conditions. In its petition, IL&FS alleged that an affiliate of Brookfield, Chronos Properties, was required to maintain Performance Guarantee until the execution of definitive agreements. Chronos Properties failed to renew a Rs108-crore Performance Guarantee, which expired in April, 2025, IL&FS said in the petition, adding that this entitles IL&FS to invoke the performance guarantees in addition to pursue remedies including disqualifying the bidder. 'The failure to maintain its bid security has extinguished any entitlement to proceed with the acquisition. The company has, therefore, urged the NCLT to declare Chronos' application infructuous and dismiss it,' said the petition. IL&FS has emphasised that 'value maximisation' is an important tenets for the public interest board's mandate under the court-supervised resolution process and approved resolution framework and sought Brookfield to revise its offer in line with the updated valuation, as per the filing with NCLT shoring resolution progress, the petition added.
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Business Standard
03-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
IL&FS moves NCLT to scrap Brookfield's Rs 1,080-cr bid for BKC property
The Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) has approached the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to scrap the Canadian asset management firm Brookfield's Rs 1,080-crore bid for its flagship Bandra Kurla Complex property. IL&FS filed a petition in NCLT Mumbai bench on June 26, seeking to dismiss the Brookfield-backed bid for its flagship BKC property, the IL&FS Financial Centre (TIFC), citing bidder disqualification and non-compliance with bidding conditions. In its petition, IL&FS alleged that an affiliate of Brookfield, Chronos Properties, was required to maintain Performance Guarantee until the execution of definitive agreements. Chronos Properties failed to renew a Rs 108-crore Performance Guarantee, which expired in April, 2025, IL&FS said in the petition, adding that this entitles IL&FS to invoke the performance guarantees in addition to pursue remedies including disqualifying the bidder. "The failure to maintain its bid security has extinguished any entitlement to proceed with the acquisition. The company has, therefore, urged the NCLT to declare Chronos' application infructuous and dismiss it," said the petition. IL&FS has emphasised that 'value maximisation' is an important tenets for the public interest board's mandate under the court-supervised resolution process and approved resolution framework and sought Brookfield to revise its offer in line with the updated valuation, as per the filing with NCLT shoring resolution progress, the petition added. IL&FS further stated that its new board has till date discharged a total debt of Rs 45,000 crore, while maintaining the overall debt resolution target at Rs 61,000 crore.
Business Recorder
03-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Coal-fired plant in Gwadar planned: CPPCL cites ‘snags' and ‘challenges'
ISLAMABAD: Chinese firm M/s CIHC Pak Power Company Limited (CPPCL), which plans to establish a 300 MW coal-fired power plant in Gwadar, has raised serious concerns over several critical challenges — including the approval of insufficient costs, exchange rate losses, and difficulties in converting foreign currency. In a letter addressed to Shah Jahan Mirza, Managing Director of the Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB), CPPCL Chairman Zhao Bo stated that the company submitted the required Performance Guarantee (PG) on March 21, 2025, in compliance with PPIB's requirements. This extended the validity of the Letter of Support (LoS) to March 31, 2028, fulfilling all obligations under the LoS and PPIB's directives. Subsequently, on April 14, 2025, the company received a notice from PPIB requesting payment of the Financial Closing Date extension fee. Gwadar coal-fired power project in limbo over tariff dispute CPPCL emphasized that Clause 5 of the 2019 LoS clearly stipulates that 'delays caused by Government of Pakistan (GoP) entities' and 'events beyond the reasonable control of the Power Company' are valid grounds for exemption from the Financial Closing Date extension fee. Based on this clause, and after thorough evaluation, PPIB had approved the submission of the PG at the original amount — without requiring a doubled guarantee. 'In our previous communications with the Ministry of Planning, Development & Special Initiatives, and PPIB, we have detailed the reasons for the delays, including force majeure events and government-related delays, all of which are beyond the Power Company's reasonable control,' said Zhao Bo. He further argued that Clause 6 of the 2018 Fee Regulations must be interpreted in conjunction with Clause 5 of the LoS. According to him, PPIB's unilateral enforcement of the 2018 Fee Regulations violates key legal principles such as: (i) lexspecialisderogatlegigenerali (special law overrides general law),(ii) the principle of contractual reciprocity, and(iii) Pakistani laws and regulations that prohibit holding a party liable for losses without direct causation. Chairman Zhao warned that if PPIB enforces encashment of the PG solely due to non-payment of the extension fee, it would be a misuse of Clause 3 of the LoS, which limits PG encashment to scenarios involving 'failure to achieve the Financial Closing Date or execute agreements.' He also pointed to Clause 3A of the 2018 Fee Regulations — titled 'Exemption from Fees and Charges' — which applies to the LoS extension fee for this project. The regulation, effective July 1, 2022, states that power companies and sponsors are exempted from such payments if the delay in milestone achievement is due to timeline adjustments under IGCEP or attributable to government entities or factors beyond the sponsor's control. However, the exemption does not apply if the delay is also attributable to the power company or sponsor. Regarding the fee payment, CPPCL noted that the project has already incurred approximately $22 million in development costs, far exceeding NEPRA's approved cap of $10.5 million for development and owner management fees. Additionally, over $1 million has been paid in PPIB processing fees. Imposing further charges, the company argues, would severely impact the financial viability of the project. Nevertheless, to prevent further delays and safeguard the broader interests of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the company said it will pay $150,000 as a 'payment under protest' for the extension fee. This payment is made without prejudice to its right to: (i) seek compensation for excess costs through NEPRA with PPIB's support; (ii) recover unjust charges and related losses through legal or other means, and (iii) claim refunds under Clause 5 (Refund Clause) of the PPIB Fee Rules. The company also reiterated that despite receiving tariff approval with PPIB's support, it continues to face major challenges — including insufficient project cost approvals, exchange rate losses, currency conversion hurdles from the State Bank of Pakistan, tariff payment delays, and financing uncertainties. These challenges, it said, render the project commercially unviable in its current form. 'The true purpose of the LoS is to facilitate project advancement through PPIB's support,' the company stated, urging PPIB to act swiftly to resolve the issues that are threatening the project's commercial viability. The company affirmed its readiness to assist in finding solutions. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
