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All Options To Revive IL&FS Are Open, Says LIC Chairman VK Sharma

Shareholders of the insolvent infrastructure firm IL&FS Ltd. will consider all options to revive it, LIC chairman VK Sharma said.

Cranes operate on residential construction site next to a highway in Bengaluru. (Photographer: Lakshmi Samyukta/Bloomberg)
Cranes operate on residential construction site next to a highway in Bengaluru. (Photographer: Lakshmi Samyukta/Bloomberg)

The shareholders of the insolvent infrastructure firm IL&FS Ltd. will consider all options to revive it and not let it “collapse”, the chairman of India’s largest insurer said.

“We’ll not allow the contagion to spread from IL&FS...All options are open,” Life Insurance Corporation of India Chairman VK Sharma told reporters in Delhi after meeting Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. He said that options such as increasing stake in the company, are open.

The meeting called by the finance minister was also attended by Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governors Viral Acharya and BP Kanungo and State Bank of India Chairman Rajnish Kumar.

The meeting comes in the backdrop of the IL&FS group defaulting on a short-term loan of Rs 1,000 crore from Small Industries Development Bank of India.

LIC is IL&FS’ largest shareholder with 25.34 percent stake, followed by Orix Corporate of Japan that owns 23.54 percent. SBI owns 6.42 percent in IL&FS.

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Sharma said that IL&FS’ shareholders will try their best to not let the company fail.

The RBI will meet the shareholders of IL&FS on Sept. 28 as the group continues to default on its debt obligations, BloombergQuint had earlier reported. The meeting would focus on set of defaults by IL&FS and its subsidiaries.

Also on the agenda is a discussion on a capital infusion plan that the shareholders will take up on Sept. 29 at an annual general meeting of the company.

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