Dpc Lenders Meet With Tata Power, Bses Inconclusive

Talks between the lenders to the Dabhol power project and BSES and Tata Power ended on an inconclusive note at Singapore today.

BSES chairman R V Shahi said from Singapore telephonically: "We held discussions with the domestic and global lenders. The lenders talked to us separately as well as in combination with Tata Power. The talks have remained inconclusive and will resume tomorrow." He refused to divulge details.

This is the first joint meeting of all these parties after the US-based Enron Corp filed for bankruptcy earlier this month.

Tata Power and BSES are in the fray for buying out the 85-per cent stake of Enron, General Electric and Bechtel in Dabhol Power Company (DPC) after the three US-based companies decided to exit the project following a prolonged payments dispute with the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB).

DPC managing director Wade Cline and chief financial officer Mohan Gurunath are scheduled to take part in the talks tomorrow.

The Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) is playing the role of a facilitator for the sale process.

Apart from IDBI chairman P P Vora and executive director, A K Doda, representatives of ICICI, the State Bank of India, ABN-Amro and Bank of America are attending the two day meeting.

Last month, the domestic lenders had met representatives of BSES, Tata Power and DPC at Singapore. Those talks had been in the nature of a stock taking exercise.

In the weeks before Houston-based Enron's spectacular collapse last month, all parties involved in the Dabhol project, including Indian and foreign lenders, were hoping to resolve the matter by finding a buyer for the plant and adjacent liquefied natural gas terminal.

Tata Power and BSES have demonstrated strong interest in picking up the stake, but Enron's bankruptcy has further complicated the process.