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Tycoon Biyani’s Future Enterprises Defaults on Bond Payments

The company had also missed paying obligations due last month, and another group firm sought to defer debt obligations.

Tycoon Biyani’s Future Enterprises Defaults on Bond Payments
Kishore Biyani, chief executive officer of Future Group. (Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg)

Tycoon Kishore Biyani’s Future Enterprises Ltd. failed to pay interest on some of its bonds this week, the latest sign that Indian businesses are still reeling under the pandemic.

The company was unable to service interest payments that were due Monday amounting to 151.4 million rupees ($2.1 million) on two of its local-currency notes, Future Enterprises said in an exchange filing late Tuesday. The company had also missed paying obligations due last month, and another group firm sought to defer debt obligations.

The retailer is the latest among at least 17 companies that haven’t serviced principal or interest on rupee notes this year, highlighting broader stress in the corporate sector. The central bank stepped up stimulus measures again this month after the economy slumped and as banks struggle with the world’s worst bad loan ratio.

The fortunes of Future Group took a further beating after a cash crunch worsened due to the virus outbreak. It was already facing stiff competition from other e-commerce firms amid a mounting debt pile.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.