SBI puts up Simbhaoli Sugars, 14 other NPA accounts for sale

New Delhi: Country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has put up for sale 15 NPA accounts worth over Rs988 crore, including UP-based Simbhaoli Sugars which owes Rs158.57 crore to the lender.

“SBI invites expression of interest from banks/asset reconstruction companies/NBFCs/FIs for the proposed sale of 15 non-performing assets (NPAs) with principal outstanding of ₹ 988.95 crore,” reads the SBI bid document published on Wednesday.

Other prominent NPA accounts that feature in the list include Aksha Gold Ornaments, KBJ Jewels Industry India and KBJ Hotel Varanasi with a combined outstanding of Rs164.30 crore. Shri Jalaram Rice Industries has turned into an NPA account with principal of Rs127.05 crore, while MCL Global Steel has an outstanding loan of Rs100.18 crore.

Eight companies based in Gujarat availed loans in the range of Rs5.90-63.39 crore from the bank which have now become NPA accounts, showed the bid document.

SBI has asked the bidders to submit expression of interest by 9 March and further to complete the due diligence by 22 March. The process of e-bidding will take place on 23 March.

To sell these dud assets, SBI said it will complete all the formalities in the shortest possible time once the deal is finalised. The bid document also showed that Simbhaoli Sugars and MCL Global Steel of Madhya Pradesh put nothing as collateral to avail the loans.

Simbhaoli Sugars, which owes Rs97.85 crore to Oriental Bank of Commerce, turned into an NPA account in 2015. The bank also filed a case with CBI against the company in September 2015 and later amended the same in November 2017.

CBI is examining the case against Simbhaoli Sugars, its chairman Gurmit Singh Mann, deputy MD Gurpal Singh and others. Simbhaoli Sugars is one of the largest sugar mills in the country.