Indian mining mogul Arun Jagatramka, who left Wollongong after his company spluttered and was taken over, has filed for insolvency protection in his homeland.
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Gujarat NRE Coke, former parent company of what is now Wollongong Coal, has applied for insolvency resolution, the firm told the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)
True to form, Mr Jagatramka has assured shareholders it is just a minor bump in the road and the future looks bright for the company.
“Nothing to worry about,” he told the Mercury on Tuesday night via Twitter.
“Company's business runs on going concern basis and all jobs are protected.
“Business is having a bright future with coking coal prices down and coke prices looking up.”
Mr Jagatramka said the company was not going under – just that there were cash flow and legal problems that needed to be resolved.
“It means there are liquidity issues which would be addressed and the company would get back on its track,” he said. “We employ more than 1300 workers and staff in India and their job security is paramount.”
In a letter to shareholders via the BSE Mr Jagatramka said the multiple court cases his company was embroiled in had become an issue, and he also needed the company’s bankers to help with an “early and favourable resolution”.
“We felt that it would be prudent to take recourse to the new insolvency and bankruptcy code introduced by the government for the quick resolution of cases such as ours,” he wrote.
“This action is a sincere effort to chalk out a durable and successful revival plan in consultation with our bankers.”
“I feel that continuing with various litigations and proceedings in different courts hampers the normal functioning due to the underlying uncertainty and is not beneficial from a broader perspective.”
He said with strong infrastructure funding in India he was confident the coal and steel sectors would grow.
