Anil Ambani: Reliance Capital will no longer be in lending business

On Monday, Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) Chairman Anil Ambani revealed that Reliance Capital would no longer be in the lending business. He was addressing the Annual General Meeting of Reliance Capital. He mentioned that the effective debt of the company would be reduced by Rs.25,000 crore. According to him, the debt resolution plans would be ready by December 2019. A week ago, the credit agency CARE had downgraded the rating of Reliance Capital to ‘CARE D’ for its long-term debt program and subordinated debt. 

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‘Slowdown of the Indian economy’ 

Ambani stated that Reliance Capital had suffered significant collateral damage for more than 6 months. He fixed the blame on the slowdown in the Indian economy, irrational action by the auditors amongst many other factors.  

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He said, "As part of the transformation, Reliance Capital has decided that it will no longer be in the lending business. Reliance Capital will be a financial shareholder in both companies to re-converge shareholder value under the new management and shareholding structure. The effective debt of Reliance Capital will stand reduced by ₹25,000 crore.” Ambani added, “Reliance Commercial Finance and Reliance Home Finance are working closely with all our lenders and other stakeholders to finalize the resolution plans which are expected to be completed in the next few months by December 2019.” 

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Share prices tank 

Reliance Capital also announced that it had paid back the interest and the principal of Rs.72.65 crore on non-convertible debentures, term loans, and inter-corporate deposits. It sold 21.54% of its stake in Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management to Nippon Life Insurance of Japan for Rs.3,030 crore. Due to Ambani's announcement, the shares of Reliance Capital tanked to Rs.24.20. This was a historic plunge of nearly 13.57%. Its shares have lost nearly 99% of their value since hitting an all-time high in January 2008.  

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