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Mumbai, Aug 18 (IANS) Corporate Affairs Secretary Injeti Srinivas on Saturday said maximisation of asset-value of insolvent companies and being fair to lesser creditors are vital for the success of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

"For the IBC to achieve a path-breaking success, the maximization of the asset-value of the insolvent company and attaining a balance with regards to the interests of all creditors is vital," said Srinivas speaking on the IBC at a CII conference here.

On achievements of the Code, he stated that the insolvency cost in many cases under the insolvency resolution process is 1 per cent as against the 9 per cent under the now dissolved Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR).

Srinivas pointed out that the haircut, or the loan losses, given to the creditors needed to be seen from the perspective of the enterprise value and not from the claimed value, which includes interest, penal interest and compounding interest.

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) Chairman M.S. Sahoo said challenges are related to the haircut offered to the creditors and the fiduciary duty of financial creditors with regards to other stakeholders of the bankrupt company.

"The financial creditors have the right to decide the haircut but at the same time they should delimit the haircut for other creditors. The committee of creditors being a statutory body is at the position of being a trustee," Sahoo stated.

The Code is not only a mechanism of recovery for the creditors but also an opportunity to revive the insolvent company, Sahoo added.

CII President Designate Uday Kotak lauded the pro-active approach of the government and regulators with respect to making appropriate and timely changes to the Code.

Kotak said one of the most noteworthy achievements of the Code is the caution and discipline the system has infused while borrowing money from the market.

CII National Committee on Legal Services Chairman Shardul Shroff highlighted the challenge related to Information Utility that is weak due to the tough regime of privacy in India. It is leaving a gaping hole in the success of the Code, he said.

E-admission on template basis for insolvency cases should be allowed and National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) should act as a one-stop shop for the submissions under the Code, Shroff added.

--IANS
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