Besides its plush interiors, a bar, shower cabin and a private resting area, the luxury jet comes with an added appeal: The vanity plate of former billionaire Vijay Mallya. Still, the impounded aircraft, now up for sale by Indian authorities seeking to recover unpaid dues, hasn’t found too many takers.
India’s government on Wednesday decided to postpone a scheduled auction of the jet by more than a month after receiving interest from only one party before the deadline for pre-bids ended this week. It is seeking to dispose of the jet, which was grounded more than three years ago following the collapse of Kingfisher Airlines Ltd.
The planned sale of the aircraft bearing the registration VT-VJM, Mallya’s initials, is the latest attempt by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration in its battle against defaulters as the nation’s banks struggle to rein in distressed assets. Mallya has become the public face of this standoff after he left for the UK early this year, prompting the government to call him a fugitive whose carrier owes as much as $1.4 billion.
“This shows the challenge for the government in recovering bad loans,” said Hatim Broachwala, a Mumbai-based banking analyst at Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities
No comments:
Write comments