News digest: Bhushan Steel resolution, AT1 bonds, CSR spending, and more

A corporate tug-of-war has broken loose, with infrastructure major L&T moving the NCLT's Delhi Bench against the Bhushan Steel resolution process

Corporate resolution: Larsen & Toubro moves NCLT against Bhushan Steel

A corporate tug-of-war has broken loose, with infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) moving the National Company Law Tribunal's (NCLT’s) Delhi Bench against the Bhushan Steel resolution process. Tata Steel on Wednesday had announced it had emerged the highest bidder for the Delhi-based steel company, beating Sajjan Jindal-promoted JSW. L&T alleged that Bhushan Steel, undergoing corporate resolution, had defaulted on payment of Rs 9.62 billion for construction of its Angul factory in Odisha. Read more

Investors upset as four banks recall Rs 109-bn additional tier 1 bonds

With four banks recalling their additional tier 1 bonds (AT1), issued as quasi-equity under Basel-III regulations, the stage is set for a slow death of these perpetual instruments. To date, Rs 761.14 billion of these bonds have been issued in the local markets, including by private banks and Exim Bank of India. Almost all banks have issued these bonds. Of the 11 banks undergoing prompt corrective action (PCA) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which restricts normal lending activities of banks, nine had raised Rs 202.9 billion through these bonds. Read more

Uber founder Travis Kalanick's new investment fund to focus on India

Travis Kalanick, co-founder and former CEO of Uber, has launched a new venture fund called 10100 (ten-one-hundred) through which he will focus on promoting large scale employment by investing in tech in India and China. Kalanick announced the move through a Twitter post earlier today saying that the fund will be home to his “passions, investments, ideas and big bets”. Read more

Indian carriers ready to splurge on new planes in booming aviation market

Indian carriers will have an order book of more than 1,000 aircraft - the third-largest in the world after the US and China. With roughly 550 commercial aircraft in service now, the new acquisition will translate into 2.2 planes on order for every single aircraft in service. Day One of the Hyderabad aero show was all about these lofty numbers, as top aviation executives spoke about their ambitious expansion plans. Read more

One in three BSE 100 firms falls short in CSR spending

At least 33 companies, or one-third of firms on the S&P BSE 100 list, have fallen short of the required corporate social responsibility (CSR) spending as mandated by the Companies Act. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) is sending out notices seeking details of how and on what CSR funds are being disbursed, say people familiar with the issue, adding officials want to check if corporate social work is actually happening. Read more