Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts has frozen assets of NMC Health chairman BR Shetty at the request of Dutch lender Credit Europe Bank's Dubai branch. The bank had filed a case against Shetty due to non-payment of $8.4 million loan facilitated in 2013. The court ordered Shetty not to sell assets with a value of up to $8.4 million without the approval of the lender. But Shetty maintained that he can sell other assets which are free of debt or other financial liability. The assets that have been frozen are in the UAE and stakes in NMC Health, BRS Investment Holdings and Finablr. Shetty, who left the UAE and is now living in India, blamed his former executives for the fraud and mismanagement that led to the downfall of the healthcare firm.
Voda Idea’s loss rises to £2.54 bn on provisioning
Vodafone Idea reported a sharp rise in loss for the April-June quarter at £2.54 billion, due to provisioning for statutory dues. The telco’s loss in the year-ago period stood at about £487.4 million. The revenue from operations was £1.06 billion for the first quarter of FY21, against £1.13 billion in the previous year, according to a regulatory filing. The company said it has recognised additional charge of £1.94 billion in the June quarter towards adjusted gross revenue (AGR) liabilities, which rose after the October 23 SC judgment. The company said the first quarter numbers were also impacted by the lockdown. Vodafone Idea MD and CEO Ravinder Takkar said, “Q1 FY21 was a challenging quarter as availability of recharges due to store closure and ability of customers to recharge on account of economic slowdown was impacted.”
Jagadishan to succeed Puri as HDFC bank boss
The Reserve Bank of India has cleared the appointment of Sashidhar Jagadishan as MD & CEO of HDFC Bank. He will succeed Aditya Puri who retires in October this year. Jagdishan (55) who has been with the bank since 1996, is a group head for several functions and was appointed ‘change agent’ in 2019. He was the bank’s chief financial officer for over a decade. HDFC Bank, in a statement said that RBI had in a letter dated August 3 approved appointment of Jagdishan for three years from the date of his taking charge - October 27, 2020. The bank’s board will meet soon to approve the appointment of a successor for Puri, the only CEO the bank ever had. Jagdishan’s appointment signals continuity.
