Top European officials von der Leyen and Borrell head to Kyiv

 Two of the Europe's top officials were on their way to Kyiv on Friday in a show of support for Ukraine after Russian forces withdrew from around the capital.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Josep Borrell, the EU's top diplomat, travelled by train from Poland for their first meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy since Russia invaded in February.

It makes them the most senior European delegation to have visited Kyiv since war broke out, after the prime ministers of Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic and the president of the European Parliament previously travelled to the city.

“I want to send a very strong message of unwavering support to the Ukrainian people and their brave fight for our common values,” Ms von der Leyen said on the eve of her visit.

As Mr Borrell had hoped, he and the commission chief can report to Mr Zelenskyy that the EU is about to ban coal imports from Russia after ambassadors from the bloc's 27 countries approved the proposal late on Thursday.

A potential second step, banning oil deliveries, will be discussed on Monday, while Ukraine wants the EU to complete the set by stopping the gas imports on which it is most reliant.

Ukraine is also pressing the EU to speed up its membership application, an idea supported by many countries in the eastern part of the bloc but viewed sceptically by senior leaders in the West.

Ms von der Leyen has said that Ukraine “belongs in our European family” but has not offered any fast-track procedure for its application, a procedure which typically takes years.

The visit comes after Russian forces paused on their offensive towards Kyiv and pulled troops away from the capital, revealing evidence of massacres in towns they left behind.Those apparent atrocities have spurred demands for more action from Ukraine's allies and pushed the EU into imposing sanctions on Russia's lucrative energy sector for the first time.

Mr Borrell said this week that the 27-member EU is Russia paying €1 billion ($1.09bn) a day for energy provisions, accounting for more than €35bn since the war started and dwarfing its military aid to Ukraine.

Mr Zelenskyy said the continuation of such payments would be taken in Moscow as “permission to go further” in attacking Ukraine and allow Russia “not to take seriously the negotiations on ending the war".

The sanctions package agreed on Thursday, the fifth in the EU since Russia invaded, also includes a ban on port access for Russian vessels and further restrictions on trade.

Noam Chomsky’s nuclear war fear: Fight to last Ukrainian or choose Macron's dialogue path

 Noam Chomsky has no truck with those who would explain away the brutality of the war in Ukraine, but he does warn that there only two outcomes of the seven-week conflict.

"One possibility is to move on to facilitate the destruction of Ukraine and possibly a nuclear war," Prof Chomsky told The National. "That's one possibility.

"So when you read a headline in a main journal in the United States calling for Russia delenda est (we must destroy Russia), what that is saying is I want to kill everybody in Ukraine and I want to move on to a nuclear war which will end human life on Earth.

"The other possibility is to abandon that stance to move in the direction that [French President] Emmanuel Macron was moving towards in his abortive discussions with [Russian leader Vladimir] Putin."

The phrase "Russia delenda est" is an echo of Cato the Elder's formula that declared Carthage must be destroyed to stop the enemies of Rome and was indeed published in recent weeks in Washington publications.

It is not an irony that it was updated by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy in 1899, in a famous attack on militarism and promotion of pacifism by the writer of the epic War and Peace.

For Prof Chomsky, 93, whose father was born in what is now Ukraine (his mother was born in what is now Belarus), the obvious path forward has been well promoted as an alternative to the Cold War settlement for more than 15 years.

To give Mr Putin the kind of security landscape he seeks for Russia avoids a bleak escalatory pathway with a country that has an enormous nuclear arsenal."Now that kind of settlement will be ugly," he said. "That's a fact. It will have to offer President Putin some kind of escape hatch.

"If it doesn't offer an escape hatch then, when the hard men in Moscow have their backs to the wall and are told there's nothing left for you, the only choice for them is to use all their power.

"So the settlement will have to have an escape hatch. And everyone knows pretty much what it is.

"It will have to be a settlement that agrees on the neutralisation of Ukraine and some diplomatic finesse to put aside for the time being the status of Donbas and Crimea to be negotiated at a later stage, and a ceasefire and withdrawal of troops.

"That's basically the framework and it's understood out of all sides."

Read More : https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/uk-news/2022/04/08/noam-chomskys-nuclear-war-fear-fight-to-last-ukrainian-or-choose-macrons-dialogue-path/

Crypto platform's efforts to stop 'useless' carbon offsets backfires

 Users of a little-known crypto platform called Toucan now account for purchases of more than a quarter of all carbon credits by the world’s largest verifier of offsets.

This newest crossover between crypto and the climate is having unexpected consequences that appear to be backfiring.

Crypto enthusiasts are not usually among the top buyers of carbon offsets. Airlines, banks, oil companies and other corporate polluters load up on offsets as a way to compensate for creating emissions.

A project funded through offsets could, for example, support the building of a renewable energy plant on the logic that the carbon dioxide avoided by burning extra coal will help cancel out a company’s climate harm.In this case, crypto users did not move into offsets as a way to counteract the enormous emissions associated with mining cryptocurrencies. What brought them in was the idea that offsets will be important in the climate fight, a fast-expanding market that some have projected to reach $100 billion in sales by 2030, and an opaque trading environment with virtually no oversight.

Blockchain technology underpinning cryptocurrency can be used to keep a public record of accounts involved in transactions for carbon offsets, even while buyers remain anonymous. Prices paid for individual offsets would become publicly available for the first time. Crypto could help clean up a messy market.

Some sought to go further. By organising an effort to purchase the cheapest carbon credits, crypto users could rid the market of low-quality projects. An oil company would have to pay higher prices for offsets derived from more rigorous projects once Toucan’s users helped clear away the worst offenders. The crypto community even came up with a term for this method: “sweeping the floor”.

This do-gooder mission attempts to address the scientific problems with the vast majority of projects behind carbon credits, which do not live up to environmental promises, by locking them away from being used. But now the crypto purchases aimed at ridding the world of bad offsets seem to be making the problem worse.

“You can see blockchain technology actually having a really important role because it's a way in which you can create more security and transparency,” said Hugh Salway, head of environmental markets at Gold Standard, a major carbon offset registry. “But the way that this has been done in some examples is unhelpful.”

Take a look at the Dayingjiang-3 hydropower dam in China’s Yunnan province. In December, the dam’s developers sold their first credit endorsed by Verra, the largest offsets verifier. The buyers were anonymous entities via Toucan. Since then, more than 2 million credits from Dayingjiang-3 have been converted into what is called a Base Carbon Tonne (BCT) on Toucan’s platform, each representing a tonne of carbon dioxide supposedly avoided by not burning fossil fuels. Those BCTs make up more than 99 per cent of the credits Dayingjiang-3 has sold, according to CarbonPlan, a non-profit group that analyses climate solutions.

Credits from existing dams do not do much to help the environment. Given Dayingjiang-3 has been running since 2006, it doesn’t need additional funding to operate and displace more fossil fuel. This is a bedrock concept of carbon offsetting called “additionality” — a worthy credit will only come from green activities that would not have happened without the extra money. In fact, most of Toucan’s BCTs are based on renewable energy projects that would probably have happened without extra financial support, especially given how quickly the cost of clean energy has fallen in recent years.“If a project hasn't issued credits for years, there's a real question as to whether it needed offsets and how important that income was,” said Barbara Haya, a research fellow at the University of California at Berkeley.

Many of the credits on Toucan’s platform are from projects that are more than a decade old, when standards were much lower. Almost all are linked to initiatives that started before 2016, CarbonPlan found. They would not be eligible for trading in established markets such as Corsia, a programme run by the airline industry, or on some commodities exchanges that offer carbon offsets contracts, according to Grayson Badgley, a research scientist at CarbonPlan.

If the intention was to raise the quality and price of carbon credits, things are moving backwards. The assumption was that there is a finite pool of bad offsets, which could be bought and locked away, allowing good projects to be priced better. But the assumption was flawed.

Spiking demand for cheap Verra credits triggered by Toucan and its allies has created new reasons to generate the bad offsets. According to an analysis by CarbonPlan, dozens of project developers who have not issued credits in years have suddenly started selling again — even though they do not need the money to keep operating, much less get off the ground.

“The problem we are seeing is that Toucan is creating incentives to bring zombie projects to life that have no environmental integrity,” said Danny Cullenward, policy director at CarbonPlan.

Over the past six months alone, Toucan’s platform has been used to scoop up more than 21 million credits verified by Verra. That activity accounts for more than one in four credits bought over that span available via Verra. Toucan says crypto wallets on its platform hold credits worth more than $100 million, with related trading volume exceeding $2bn.

Toucan says it is not their responsibility to judge the quality of a carbon credit.

“We’re not trying to be the standards body that’s creating the criteria by which we measure climate impact,” said John Hoopes, who works on the company’s strategy and ecosystem. Toucan is aware of the problem of zombie projects, he added, and is working on ways to filter out older credits.

Verra, meanwhile, said in a statement that it takes no responsibility for any trading that happens via Toucan or elsewhere in the crypto world and also defended its certification of old projects.Other attempts to reform the offsets market have run into issues of quality control because it is fundamentally difficult to decide which projects are truly benefiting the planet. Last month, a task force of hundreds of companies and sustainability experts led by finance heavyweights Mark Carney and Bill Winters acknowledged that their multiyear effort to improve carbon offsets trading had to be scaled back because they had not yet agreed exactly how to define a high-quality project.

If crypto’s entry into offsets has not so far managed to improve the market, that does not mean it has not been an opportunity for profit.

Once a carbon credit from Verra is turned into a BCT token, buyers can do as they please: trade it to someone else, use it to offset a tonne of carbon dioxide (thereby “retiring” the credit), or convert it into other carbon tokens. One popular move is to turn BCT into a “carbon-backed currency” managed by KlimaDAO. The group is the most high-profile proponent of eliminating low-quality offsets. KlimaDAO and Toucan are not officially in partnership, but the two organisations dominate carbon-related crypto trading.

Because Toucan accepts almost all Verra credits, which can sell for less than $2 each, it is created an easy opportunity for users to make a quick buck, according to Mr Cullenward.

Here is how it works:

• A user buys a $2 credit from Verra and converts it into BCT on Toucan

• BCTs on Toucan currently trade at about $3 each

• Those BCTs can also be used to earn KlimaDAO's currency, which stands at $21 today

Cargo plane splits in two after crash-landing at Costa Rica airport

 A cargo plane carrying mail and packages broke in two during an emergency landing in Costa Rica on Thursday, causing the temporary closure of the international airport.

Costa Rica's Juan Santamaria International Airport reopened hours after the Boeing 757-200 cargo aircraft operated by German logistics company DHL skidded off the runway, separating its tail, aviation authorities said.Smoke emerged from the bright yellow plane as it ground to a halt after the pilot requested permission to make an emergency landing shortly after take-off, he said.

The aircraft was bound for Guatemala when its hydraulic system failed, Luis Munoz, deputy director of Costa Rica's civil aviation authority, told Reuters.

A DHL cargo plane is seen after emergency landing at the Juan Santa Maria international airport due to a mechanical problem, in Alajuela, Costa Rica, on April 7, 2022. 

DHL said the crew was unharmed but revealed that one member was undergoing a medical review as a precaution.

A Boeing spokeswoman said it would defer questions to investigating authorities.

DHL and airport authorities said they were working together to move the aircraft, although they said it was not affecting operations. The company's incident response team "has been activated and an investigation will be conducted with the relevant authorities to determine what happened”, DHL said.

Airport operator Aeris said the airport, on the outskirts of capital San Jose, reopened at 3.30pm local time, several hours earlier than expected after the 10am incident.

About 8,500 passengers and 57 commercial and cargo flights were affected by the closure, Aeris said.

Aeris originally estimated the airport would remain closed until 6pm local time, which would have affected three cargo flights and 32 commercial flights to and from the US, Central America, Mexico, Canada and Europe.

Four tips to help you thrive as a freelancer

 The UAE made significant changes to its labour laws on February 2, making it easier for freelancers and gig workers to take on multiple jobs simultaneously.

The Emirates is also known as a “paradise for digital nomads” after introducing a one-year residency permit for foreign remote workers in March last year, as well as new freelance visa categories. The new laws and visas will make it easier to practice a career as an independent contractor in the UAE.

The freedom and independence that comes with working as a freelancer is often the main reason why a significant number of people quit their stable, but less exciting, day-to-day jobs and pursue careers as gig workers.

However, as with any job, there are both challenges and advantages. Gig workers struggle with social and economic anxieties as they operate without the assurance and support of a traditional employer, studies show. These anxieties co-exist with the desired benefits of independence and self-sufficiency.

Our studies have shown that successful gig workers have learnt to manage their financial and existential worries and enjoy experiencing much higher ownership of their work and achievements. But this doesn’t happen without effort on their behalf.

Based on a survey of 65 gig workers, we found four critical connections that help people to excel in a gig economy.

The most successful and thriving independent workers are able to navigate the challenges of this kind of work by developing four different connections: to places, routines, purpose and people.

Places

Successful gig workers create a space exclusively dedicated to their work. It is no surprise that it can be difficult to stay focused in a home environment, but a space specifically designated for work played an essential role in both helping gig workers focus and also inspiring their efforts when work was tough.

A home office — as opposed to a corporate office — can be unique and reflect a person’s personality and needs. Successful gig workers set up their offices to both enable work and remain motivated.

Routines

Many freelancers would argue that one of the primary reasons they left their corporate jobs is because every day in an office can lead to undesired routines and tedious bureaucracy. Gig work, instead, allows them to have a more diverse schedule and create their own practices.

However, research has shown that athletes, scientists, artists and even everyday workers use routines to enhance focus and performance. The professionals we spoke with tend to rely on them in the same way.

Routines, especially for gig workers, are a powerful tool to manage tasks, improve workflow and maintain motivation. They are a conscious tool to enhance people’s sense of order and control in uncertain situations.

Purpose

For most people who participated in our research, being self-employed initially meant doing a job that would allow them to enter the market. However, the most successful talked about their jobs in connection to a deeper purpose.

Through their words, we see that such a purpose both binds and frees gig workers by orienting and elevating their work.

The people we interviewed talked about empowering women through films, exposing harmful marketing practices, keeping folk music traditions alive and helping corporate leaders grow in good faith.In other words, they saw their job as more than just a means of earning a living. The purpose helped them to see a bridge between their interests and motivations and the world’s needs.

People

Researchers have given warnings about a “loneliness epidemic” and independent workers are naturally at a higher risk.

Successful gig workers found a way to establish and maintain connections with people who both help them to stay focused and elevate their work.

Gig workers from our study said that when they reach out to friends, it helps with anxiety and works as a support system.

Circumstantially, there are family members, friends or contacts in similar fields who can’t always offer specific work advice but, nevertheless, help gig workers push through challenging times and encourage them to take the risks their work entails.

How to thrive as an independent worker

Professionals must think carefully about whether, when and how to go independent.

One survey respondent said: “Independent consulting requires not only the right level of experience to become a credible and trusted adviser, but also the right mindset to deal with the challenges of uncertainty, lack of financial security and the ups and downs of the workload.”

A traditional workspace wouldn’t fully satisfy many of the gig workers we surveyed as it wouldn’t give them the same freedom and mental space as when they work as freelancers.

Most respondents agreed that going back to a corporate and traditional workplace was not an option after they became independent workers.

Being a gig worker is not an automatic recipe for success. However, when done right, it’s a guarantee for a fulfilling and vital work life.

Sue Ashford is a professor of management and organisations at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business

Fox News reporter wounded in Ukraine says he is 'pretty damn lucky' to be alive

 A Fox News correspondent who was wounded in Ukraine during an attack that killed two of his colleagues said on Thursday that he had sustained serious injuries but felt “pretty damn lucky” to have survived.

Benjamin Hall was in a vehicle with Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra “Sasha” Kuvshynova last month when it was struck by incoming fire near Kyiv. Zakrzewski, 55, and Kuvshynova, 24, were killed.

“To sum it up, I've lost half a leg on one side and a foot on the other. One hand is being put together, one eye is no longer working, and my hearing is pretty blown,” Hall said in a Twitter post along with a photo of himself on a stretcher, wearing an eye patch.

“But all in all I feel pretty damn lucky to be here — and it is the people who got me here who are amazing!”

In an earlier tweet, his first since the attack, Hall paid tribute to his two fallen colleagues.

“I need to pay tribute to my colleagues Pierre and Sasha who didn't make it that day. Pierre and I travelled the world together, working was his joy and his joy was infectious. RIP,” he wrote.

Zakrzewski was a veteran war-zone photographer who had covered many conflicts for Fox News, including in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria.

Based in London, he had been working in Ukraine since February.

Kuvshynova had been helping Fox's crews navigate Kyiv and the surrounding area while gathering information and speaking with sources.

Hall was rescued from the war zone last month and flown to a hospital in Germany.

He was later transferred to a military medical hospital in Texas, where he has undergone several operations.

Brent Renaud, an acclaimed filmmaker and journalist was killed last month when his vehicle came under fire at a checkpoint in the town of Irpin, about 10 kilometres north-west of Kyiv.

Toyota follows Tesla's lead in developing self-driving technology with low-priced cameras

 Toyota Motor unit Woven Planet is following the lead of Tesla in trying to advance self-driving technology with low-cost cameras.

Woven Planet said it was able to use cameras to collect data and effectively train its self-driving system, a "breakthrough" that it hoped would help to drive down costs and scale up the technology.

Gathering diverse driving data using a massive fleet of cars is critical to developing a strong self-driving car system, but it is costly and not scalable to test autonomous vehicles with expensive sensors, it said.

Woven Planet still uses data collected from other sensors such as radars and lidars for training as well as long-term use.

Tesla has been betting on cameras to collect data from more than one million vehicles on the road to develop its automated driving technology, while Alphabet's Waymo and other self-driving car firms added expensive sensors such as lidars to a small number of vehicles."We need a lot of data. And it's not sufficient to just have a small amount of data that can be collected from a small fleet of very expensive autonomous vehicles," said Michael Benisch, vice president of engineering at Woven Planet.

"Rather, we're trying to demonstrate that we can unlock the advantage that Toyota and a large auto maker would have, which is access to a huge corpus of data but with a much lower fidelity."

Mr Benisch, is a former engineering director at Lyft's self-driving division, which Toyota acquired last year.

Woven Planet uses cameras that are 90 per cent cheaper than sensors that it used before and can be easily installed in fleets of passenger cars.

It said using most data from low-cost cameras increased its system's performance to a level similar to when the system was trained exclusively on high-cost sensor data.

But Toyota would still use several sensors such as lidars and radars for robotaxis and other autonomous vehicles to be sent on the road, as this seemed to be the best, safest approach to developing robotaxis, Mr Benisch said.

Toyota is also in a partnership with Aurora in testing an autonomous ride-hailing fleet based on the Toyota Sienna minivans, equipped with lidars, radars and cameras.

"But in many, many years, it's entirely possible that camera type technology can catch up and overtake some of the more advanced sensors," Mr Benisch said.

"The question may be more about when and how long it will take to reach a level of safety and reliability. I don't believe we know that yet."

Tesla's chief executive Elon Musk said it could achieve full autonomy with cameras this year after missing earlier targets several times.

Who are the world’s richest billionaires aged under 30?

 Gary Wang, co-founder and chief technology officer of Bahamas-based cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has been crowned the world’s richest billionaire under the age of 30 with a net worth of $5.9 billion, according to Forbes’ 2022 World Billionaires List.

This year’s list, which used stock prices and exchange rates from March 11 to calculate the personal fortunes of the world’s richest people, features 12 billionaires aged under 30 who have a combined net worth of $25.8bn. Seven of them are self-made, four dropped out of college and one is a teenager.

“Clinching the title of the world’s youngest billionaire for the second year running is 19-year-old Kevin David Lehmann, worth an estimated $2.4bn,” Forbes said in its annual report.“The list’s only teenager inherited a 50 per cent stake in German drugstore chain dm-drogerie markt from his father, an early investor in the business, but neither are involved in its daily operations.”

On Wednesday, Forbes declared Elon Musk, the founder and chief executive of electric car maker Tesla, the world’s richest person with a net worth of $219bn.

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index also named Mr Musk the world’s richest person at the end of 2021, estimating his personal fortune at $273.5bn. Mr Musk was this week appointed to Twitter's board after emerging as the biggest single shareholder in the microblogging platform on Monday.

The Russia-Ukraine crisis, Covid-19 pandemic and volatile stock markets have taken a toll on the combined wealth of the world’s richest people. It slipped 3 per cent to $12.7 trillion over the past year, from a record $13.1tn in 2021.

There are 2,668 billionaires in the world, down from an all-time high of 2,755 last year. The top 12 under 30 list represents less than 0.5 per cent of the world’s billionaires, Forbes said.

“It’s been a mixed year overall for this elite [under 30] cohort,” Forbes said.

“While there are two more billionaires under 30 this year than in 2021, this group is collectively worth $3.7bn less than last year’s group, due in large part to choppy equity markets and [FTX co-founder] Sam Bankman-Fried’s graduation from the under-30 ranks.”

Coming in at number 2 on the under-30 list is Norway’s fishing farm heir Gustav Magnar Witzoe, 28, with a net worth of $4.5bn, followed by Mr Lehmann in third place.

In fourth place with a $2bn fortune is Ryan Breslow, 27, who dropped out of Stanford University to launch payment software company Bolt. Completing the top five is Austin Russell, 27, founder and chief executive of automotive sensor company Luminar Technologies, with a net worth of $1.6bn.

Only two women featured on this year’s list. Norwegian sisters Alexandra and Katharina Andresen, who were ranked in ninth and 10th place, respectively, each have a personal fortune of $1.3bn.

The world's top 12 richest people under 30 and their net worth

1. Gary Wang: $5.9bn

2. Gustav Magnar Witzoe: $4.5bn

3. Kevin David Lehmann: $2.4bn

4. Ryan Breslow: $2bn

5. Austin Russell: $1.6bn

6. Pedro Franceschi: $1.5bn

7. Wang Zelong: $1.5bn

8. Henrique Dubugras: $1.5bn

9. Alexandra Andresen: $1.3bn

10. Katharina Andresen: $1.3bn

11. Stanley Tang: $1.2bn

12. Andy Fang: $1.1bn

Private lending stressed assets and new crisis provides opportunities to young entrepreneurs, Shyam Maheshwari

 Shyam Maheshwari serves as Chief Executive Officer, Founder and Partner of SSG Capital Management (Singapore) Pte. Limited, and is primarily responsible for SSG’s investment activities in India. He has 17 years of experience in the deal sourcing, analysis and investing industry. Previously, Mr Maheshwari served as a Senior Member of the Lehman Brothers Asia Special Situations Group primarily responsible for making principal investments in India, where he oversaw the efforts to build the India business and initiated pan-Asian ventures in mining and power assets with a focus on Indonesia. He initially joined Lehman Brothers in 1999 as a Credit Analyst in the Asia Credit Research team and later moved to Credit Trading in early 2005. He served as Fixed Income Analyst of Barclays Capital, Research Division. He worked at Barclays PLC, Research Division. He was a Credit Analyst of Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. from 1999 until 2005. He has been a Non-Executive Director of Future Supply Chain Solutions Ltd. Since June 30, 2016.

Shyam is a gold medalist (All India Rank 1) chartered accountant and also has an MBA from IIM Bangalore where he was the Institute topper. After over 12 years as a founder of SSG, Shyam Maheshwari in July 2021 leaves Ares SSG to dedicate more time to his family, especially his children, and pursue his interests in philanthropy and other personal interests. Over the years, Maheshwari has made significant contributions to SSG, particularly in the Indian market, where he has helped to build a strong business, and importantly a deep team of senior investment professionals who are well-positioned to carry on successful Indian business.

 

Ways to counter stressed asset development

Mr. Shyam Maheshwari serves as Chief Executive
Officer, Founder and Partner of SSG Capital
 Management (Singapore) Pte. Limited

Shyam Maheshwari tells about the recent developments around stressed assets resolution. They are a $4.5 billion platform today. India has happened to be a large part of our investments since 2009. The economy has a tailwind of growth, said Shyam Maheshwari. They have put in resources, talent pool and capital as well as processes. It’s a market you have to work hard for, he said. They have done 14 steel site visits in the last two years but they haven’t concluded a deal in India yet. It takes time but there’s nothing called wasted learning, he said. According to Shyam Maheshwari, foreign investors have to continuously work on the process of executing things and are ready to invest their capital in India.

Mr Shyam Maheshwari also said about the challenges they face in the country. Assets have to be fundamentally sound. Operating assets could have been mismanaged. Operating a completed asset is the first criterion. They thought about the steel cycle and realized that the government came up with the process which created a flow to steel prices in India. The same thing is happening in China too, said Shyam. Non-operating assets are shutting down. In that context, they had started looking at those assets and at that time the law (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code) had not been enacted and there was no process of restructuring.

According to Maheshwari, diligence is a learning process. As he said one has to be in the game to learn the game. They put the resources and people on the ground. They are paying to learn the game. The process is fine. It’s all about being there and contributing positively.

“Expectations of our investors are similar to us. On the equity side, you just can’t make a quick buck and then leave. We have a long duration fund of eight-10 years. We need that kind of time to figure out our way. You have to create that process, discipline and risk-reward as an investor and it is not different from what a strategic investor would do”, said Shyam Maheshwari.

According to Mr ShyamMaheshwari, Challenges are opportunities. Firstly, one has to be in the game. Their fund is a long duration fund with no leverage. The second aspect is that doing business is not easy. Things that he would like to change in IBC would be the bias for strategic investors over financial investors. It’s very clear how the committee of creditors think today. Asking Rs500 crore for an initial deposit is not possible. One has to think that time is valuable and money is valuable. And I think this would happen over some time.

“We are cognizant that every asset is not for us. It’s difficult to assess the liabilities”, said Shyam Maheshwari.

He is optimistic because the process in front of his eyes has changed positively. The whole part of foreign portfolio investments (FPI) to invest in debt instruments is good. This has created a level playing field for foreign and domestic funds and much more is required to solve the problem of the mammoth size that face. Many things have ramifications when the company goes into debt. Salaries are not paid; the income tax department is after your life and this cannot be underestimated. The process is improving, creditor rights are recognized. The attitude is changing and this NCLT process is a level playing field in itself, concluded Shyam Maheshwari.

 

Russia-Ukraine war effects on the Indian market

Shyam Maheshwari also talks about the impact caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict have on India. Even before the conflict began in Ukraine, the expected rise in US interest rates was creating pressure on emerging markets including India. The hardening of interest rates could cause some stress in the retail credit.  The conflict has aggravated the short-term market situation. Russia was investment grade and had a significant presence in most of the bond indices. They are in unchartered waters here whether the sovereign would be able to honor their commitments despite having reserves to do so.  Shyam Maheshwari feels this is creating forced liquidation of portfolios, margin calls and low liquidity in secondary markets.  However, given the fundamentals of India remain strong, the impact of high oil prices may slow the growth rate but should still keep them at attractive levels. The off-shore credit markets are very attractive at present to acquire India related risk on higher-quality names.  As this normalizes, the opportunities in local markets would again become more attractive.

 

Private lenders on the Indian credit market

Shyam Maheshwari describes the Indian credit market and how it is dominated by private lenders. The Indian credit market has been dominated by banks and non-bank financial companies for a long period. It started with the primary dominance of PSU banks then the private sector banks came along.  Still, the credit to GDP ratio is relatively modest and low for the stage of growth of the country.  As the economy develops credit intensity would probably increase initially and the need for credit is very much out there. The challenges the banks and non-banks as you have rightly pointed out may not be able to fulfil that requirement and that’s where the private credit demand is extremely apparent and necessary for the growth, says Shyam Maheshwari.

Shyam Maheshwari thinks that taking what he said on the flexibility, also emanates from the regulated players which have been dominating the market for a long time whether it is a bank or a non-bank. One is regulated second is leveraged. The leverage platforms have certain constraints which were shown when IFS has happened in terms of whether it is LLM or it is provisioning norms. Flexibility is available in terms of speed. Flexibility is also available in terms of crafting a solution which is meeting the need of the borrower then. It could be for capital formation, which is quite a constraint in terms of financing from the traditional sector in India.  The third is real estate, fourth is intangibles, according to Shyam Maheshwari.  Lots of these are also sectors that are kind of at the building block of the country especially real estate which does not get adequate attention from the banking sector.  So, coming to the ground exactly what you would expect certain sectors have more need but it seems like the need has grown rapidly at least in terms of number enquiries.

Primarily because of constraints especially at this point where the banking sector is running double-digit MPL ratios.   There had been certain comfort for the investors from the global perspective which is there is an IBC process in place. There is creditor protection which is increasing and improving over time. Of course, the access to the market remains open, improving but still, a lot could be done as also he pointed out in form of access which is only available to the foreign participant in form of either an ECB in dollar terms or in rupee bond market which has certain nuances and constraints at this point.  However, still, it is pretty encouraging to see the signs that it has been opening up in the last decade or so.