Haldia Petro may restart as lenders agree to infuse funds

10 Jan '15

2 min read

West Bengal based and since long ailing, Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL) is expected to reopen its plant as lenders have agreed to infuse fresh funds into the loss making company.

After Purnendu Chatterjee, chairman of The Chatterjee Group (TCG) agreed to invest Rs 100 crore as margin amount into the ailing plant, banks have reportedly decided to infuse funds, Business Standard reported.

TCG is one of the principal promoters of HPL, along with the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC).

The main lenders to HPL are Industrial Development Bank of India, State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, ICICI Bank and Industrial Finance Corporation of India.

According to Business Standard, banks will tread with caution and will lend the total money in tranches.

Operations at Haldia Petrochemicals’ plant have been suspended since July 7 due to a shortage of working capital, though the official reason was a technical snag in the naptha cracker unit.

Earlier on December 15, BS had reported that Competition Commission has cleared Chatterjee Group's proposal to hike its stake in HPL by acquiring shares from West Bengal Industrial Development Corp.

The proposed combination is not likely to have appreciable adverse effect on competition in India, the fair trade watchdog said in its order.

Under the deal, Essex Development Investments (Mauritius) Ltd would acquire 15.4 per cent stake in HPL from West Bengal Industrial Development Corp Ltd.

Essex is part of Chatterjee Group, which through its affiliate/associate companies namely Chatterjee Petrochem (Mauritius) Company, India Trade (Mauritius) Ltd and Winstar India Investment Company Ltd, PCC holds 39.54 per cent stake in HPL.

Post the deal, Chatterjee Group's overall shareholding in HPL would increase to about 55 per cent. (AR)

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