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    September 2010

    ABU DHABI BRUSSELS DUBAI FRANKFURT HONG KONG LONDON MADRID MILANMUNICH NEW YORK PARIS SINGAPORE STOCKHOLM TOKYO WASHINGTON DC

    India group briefing

    Project finance in India: Rupee loandocumentation and issues forinternational sponsors

    India's infrastructure market continues toattract international interest. In 2009, Indiatopped global project finance league tableswith US$30bn of deals transacted in thecountry according to figures released byReuters Project Finance International andThomson Reuters SDC1. Infrastructuredevelopment in India is estimated torequire US$1.7tr over the next decade2.The Eleventh Five-Year Plan contemplatesmore than US$500bn of investment ininfrastructure by 2012. Public privatepartnerships are projected to account fornearly 30 per cent of the proposedinvestment.

    Much of the foreign investment in infrastructure has

    been by way of equity. The roads sector has attracted

    several international construction companies, such as

    Atlantia of Italy, Isolux Corsan of Spain and John Laing

    of the UK3. All four airport PPPs that have achieved

    financial closure to date have similarly benefited from

    foreign equity participation4; foreign sponsors and

    venture capitalists are also showing interest in India's

    burgeoning power sector. Morgan Stanley, Goldman

    Sachs, General Atlantic, Everstone Capital and

    Norwest Venture Partners have invested US$425m

    into Asian Genco, an infrastructure company that

    invests in Indian power generation5, and Singapore's

    Sembcorp recently concluded a joint venture

    agreement with an Indian infrastructure company to

    set up a 1,320 MW power plant at Krishnapatnam in

    the state of Andhra Pradesh6.

    Project financing structures in India are generally no

    different to those prevalent internationally. Foreign

    sponsors may enter into joint venture agreementswith an Indian partner to form the special purpose

    vehicle (SPV) which executes the project. The SPV

    may then enter into a concession agreement with an

    Indian government entity, construction and operating

    agreements with various contractors, and financing

    agreements with lenders. However, lending practices

    among Indian lenders can differ significantly from

    those in the international project finance market.

    This briefing examines the key issues arising for

    foreign sponsors participating in a joint venture SPV

    borrowing from a consortium of Indian banks to

    finance a project where the debt is secured only by

    the assets and cash flows of the project itself and

    recourse to sponsors is limited to the amount of their

    equity commitment and, if provided, any completion

    or cost overrun support, i.e. on a limited recourse

    basis.

    Key commercial issues

    Interest rates and margin resets

    Until recently, interest rates for Indian Rupee (INR)

    loans were based on a reference rate, usually the

    prime lending rate (PLR). From 2003, banks have

    been free to set their PLRs but in the absence of a well

    developed interbank market these tracked the Reserve

    Bank of India's (RBI) repo and reverse repo rates. This

    did not, however, result in convergence of the PLRs ofthe major banks into a benchmark reference rate

    similar to, for example, LIBOR. PLRs have been

    phased out from 1 July 2010 in favour of more

    transparent base rates7, although this will still not

    result in a single reference rate across all banks. The

    National Stock Exchange together with the Clearing

    Corporation of India does, however, provide a

    benchmark reference rate, viz. the Mumbai Interbank

    Offer Rate or MIBOR, but absent a term money market,

    there are no reliable interest rate quotes available for

    one/three/six/nine/twelve-month transactions.

    Hedging of interest rate risk becomes almost

    impossible in the absence of a benchmark reference

    rate. While it may be theoretically possible to hedge

    individual loans from each bank in the syndicate, the

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    administrative difficulty in managing a large number of

    swaps, the costs involved and the absence of any

    multiple transaction payment netting systems in India

    render this option economically unattractive. Problems

    could also occur during syndication if a loan was

    hedged and the incoming lender's base rate differed

    significantly from the outgoing lender's base rate. This

    would require termination of the existing hedge and

    entry into a new hedge in respect of the new loan,

    possibly resulting in considerable breakage costs.

    Long term fixed rates are generally not available on

    INR borrowings nor can interest costs be passed

    through under the relevant concession agreements, so

    fluctuating base rates are simply a commercial reality.

    There are, however, a number of mitigating factorswhich have so far provided considerable comfort to

    Indian borrowers:

    PLRs (now phased out) have not fluctuatedsignificantly in the past ten years and range

    between 10 and 15 per cent8; major banks have

    currently fixed their base rates at between 7 and 8

    per cent9;

    nearly 80 per cent of the lenders in the Indianproject finance market are government-owned

    banks and financial institutions, which leads to de

    facto convergence of reference rates; and

    borrowers have sometimes managed tosuccessfully negotiate fixed rates during the

    construction period or reference rates linked to

    yields on Government of India securities.

    Another feature of interest rates that concerns foreign

    sponsors is the individual lenders' ability to reset

    margins. Margins are reset annually or semi-annually

    after a certain period. Increases are uncapped

    although the risk of significant increases recedes

    somewhat once construction is complete as borrowers

    can usually refinance at better rates.

    Unpredictable margins together with the absence of a

    benchmark reference rate and effective hedging

    mechanisms means that financing costs cannot be

    determined or predicted with certainty. This gives rise

    (among other things) to monitoring issues for lenders

    because the value of forward-looking cover ratios,

    such as, for example, the loan life cover ratio or the

    project life cover ratio is questionable in the absence

    of fixed financing costs.

    External funding could be considered as an

    alternative to INR borrowings to mitigate interest raterisk, but:

    regulations currently restrict this to US$500m in afinancial year under the "automatic" route10

    provided certain other conditions are fulfilled, i.e.

    RBI approvals are required for external borrowings

    outside these parameters; and

    concession agreements do not envisage transfer offoreign exchange risk to the relevant government

    entities and foreign exchange forwards are

    typically only available for up to two years which

    makes managing this risk difficult, although some

    recent projects have benefited from external

    funding11.

    Consequently, debt funding for planned projects is

    expected to come mostly from domestic sources at

    least in the medium term.

    Prepayment premiaIt is standard practice in the Indian finance market to

    require the payment of a premium on prepayment of

    loans. INR loan documentation will typically allow

    prepayments on the dates on which margins are reset

    (annually or semi-annually), subject to the payment of

    a premium. In a project finance context, prepayments

    during the construction will not usually be allowed,

    which is in line with international practice.

    Role of facility agent

    The facility agent's role under INR loan documentation

    can sometimes be confined to receiving and

    disseminating information to the lenders. A facility

    agent under LMA-based loan documentation is the

    interface between the borrower and the lenders and

    also between the lenders themselves, thus removing

    some of the administrative burden from the borrower.

    Its functions would typically include disbursing loans

    and repayments, monitoring covenants and facilitating

    the lender decision-making process. The absence of an

    LMA-style facility agent means that:

    conditions precedent are confirmed by each lenderseparately to the borrower;

    loan disbursements are made by each lenderseparately to the borrower;

    payments under the financing documents includingloan repayments, interest payments, prepayments,

    etc. are made by the borrower separately to each

    lender; and

    requests for amendments and waivers under thefinancing documents are made separately by the

    borrower to each lender.

    The need for a facility agent is questionable if its role

    is to be largely ceremonial but it is unclear why some

    facility agents under INR loan documentation havesuch a limited role, particularly when there are no

    legal or regulatory impediments and Indian banks

    routinely undertake LMA-type agency functions under

    their foreign currency loan agreements.

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    Lender decision-making

    Lender decision-making is typically regulated by an

    intercreditor agreement between the lenders. The

    borrower is not generally a party to the intercreditor

    agreement and lenders will usually resist legal

    obligations to provide copies of the intercreditor

    agreement or keep the borrower informed of any

    amendments to it. The borrower is, consequently,

    unable to enforce the terms of the intercreditor

    agreement against the lenders as there is no

    legislation in India similar to the UK Contracts (Rights

    of Third Parties) Act 1999. There is, therefore, no

    transparency with regards to the lender decision-

    making process, which can lead to considerable

    uncertainty for the borrower. Borrowers have

    occasionally succeeded in negotiating provisions intheir loan agreements requiring lender decision-

    making to be by majority. The manner in which that

    majority is determined will, however, still be regulated

    by the intercreditor agreement, which can be amended

    without borrower consent.

    Covenant package

    While the covenant package for Indian project finance

    transactions is not dissimilar to that prevalent in

    international project finance transactions in terms of

    scope, when examined in detail, it is often onerous,

    characterised by "hair trigger" representations,covenants and defaults. In particular, the following

    should be noted by foreign sponsors:

    Cred i t i n fo rma t ion

    The Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited (CIBIL)

    was established in 2000 for "collecting, collating and

    disseminating credit information pertaining to both

    commercial and consumer borrowers, to a closed user

    group of Members"12. Most banks and financial

    institutions are members of CIBIL and have access to

    information stored within it. RBI guidelines require

    banks to report "wilful defaulters" to CIBIL or any

    similar agency authorised by the RBI13. INR loan

    documentation will give lenders unrestricted rights to

    report borrower defaults to CIBIL although in practice

    lenders will be loathe to report defaults because this

    could require them to accelerate the loan and declare

    it to be a non-performing asset (NPA) (please refer to

    the section "RBI regulations" below).

    Commerc ia l t e rms

    Although commercial prudence may preclude lenders

    from accelerating where "immaterial" defaults arise as

    a result of extremely tight covenants, lenders will have

    sufficient leverage to renegotiate key commercialterms as a quid pro quo for waivers, the most

    significant of these being margins (which as noted

    above are reset periodically). The existence of a

    default would enable lenders to demand margins that

    are significantly higher than those prevailing in the

    market. Whether or not lenders use their leverage to

    obtain better terms will obviously depend on the

    relative bargaining position of the parties, with

    financially weaker Indian borrowers and foreign

    sponsored borrowers exposed to significantly greater

    risks compared to stronger Indian (or Indian-

    sponsored) borrowers. Indian borrowers will usually

    seek to build in sufficient cure periods to ensure

    flexibility or to weed out lenders that are not

    amenable to it at the term sheet stage.

    A ppo in tm en t o f consu l t an t s and nom inee

    d i rec to rs

    Another peculiarity of INR loan documentation for

    project finance transactions is the lenders' ability toappoint technical, management or other consultants to

    inquire into the operations of the borrower or the

    project and report to the lenders almost at will.

    International project finance documentation will

    usually restrict such appointments to circumstances

    where defaults or potential defaults are continuing.

    It is also usual practice in India for financial

    institutions providing credit facilities to companies to

    appoint directors to the boards of those companies

    although in a project finance context this is generally

    limited to circumstances where a default is continuing.

    The Indian Companies Act 1956 (Companies Act) does

    not distinguish between "nominee" and other directors.

    The function of a nominee director is primarily to

    protect the interests of the entity nominating him/her.

    This may result in conflict with shareholder interests

    but the legal position is uncertain. Nominee directors

    do, however, enjoy certain privileges. For example,

    they are not subject to retirement by rotation

    pursuant to section 255 or disqualification under

    section 274(1)(g) of the Companies Act14.

    Costs of appointing consultants and nominee directors

    including their fees and expenses are required to be

    borne by the borrower.

    Sponsor support

    It is not uncommon for Indian lenders to request

    sponsor support that is not normally expected on

    international project finance transactions. Thus, for

    example, although the financing of the Jamnagar

    Refinery Project was not secured by any sponsor

    guarantee, the sponsor, Reliance Industries Limited,

    did provide completion support for an uncapped

    amount. Similarly, GMR Infrastructure provided

    guarantees for both the Jadcharla-FarukhnagarHighway PPP and the Adloor-Yellareddy-Pochanpalli

    Highway PPP projects15. This could be a significant

    issue for international sponsors because not only

    would it undermine the limited/non-recourse nature of

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    the project but could also have significant balance

    sheet impacts. The trend, however, appears to be

    changing and several projects have achieved financial

    closure without significant sponsor support.

    Costs of taking security

    Costs of taking security in India can seem prohibitive

    compared to other jurisdictions. This is mainly due to

    the high stamp duties payable on security documents,

    which is on an ad valorem basis. In other words, the

    stamp duty payable on a security document will

    depend on the amount it secures16. The actual amount

    payable will vary from state to state. Under India's

    federal legislative system, the power to impose stamp

    duty is divided between the central and state

    governments; each state has the ability to enactstamp duty legislation in relation to security

    documents17. A document is only subject to stamp

    duty if it is executed in India. Documents executed

    outside India will attract stamp duty when they are

    brought into India, e.g. for the purpose of

    enforcement. Unstamped documents will not be

    admissible in evidence and will consequently be

    unenforceable. Lenders will not wish to take risks

    associated with not stamping documents and will

    usually insist that they are stamped upfront. This

    could be a significant issue because stamp duty costs

    will inevitably be passed on to borrowers.

    Key regulatory issues

    Under the Indian Transfer of Property Act 1882, only

    "English" mortgages18 enable mortgagees to enforce

    security without recourse to judicial process. In all

    other cases, security has to be enforced through the

    courts. This is often a very slow and cumbersome

    process taking up to 15 years19, which has heightened

    the risk of borrower default. The Indian Government

    has, over the years, taken a number of steps to curb

    financial indiscipline and ensure that banks and

    financial institutions are not held to ransom byrecalcitrant borrowers. Among these were the

    promulgation of guidelines empowering banks to take

    action against defaulting borrowers without having to

    resort to judicial enforcement, establishment of the

    Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRTs) under the Recovery of

    Debts Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act

    1993 (RDB Act), the more recent enactment of the

    SARFAESI Act and the proposed establishment of "fast

    track" commercial courts pursuant to the Commercial

    Division of High Courts Bill 2009 (Commercial Courts

    Bill).

    Arguably, both the RDB Act and the SARFAESI Act

    traverse similar ground but while the DRTs expedited

    the adjudicatory process, the dispositive process

    remained ineffective because the RDB Act failed to

    provide a comprehensive framework for execution of

    DRT decrees20. The SARFAESI Act was intended to

    address this asymmetry by shortening the

    enforcement process but a spate of litigation has

    meant that much of this promise remains unfulfilled21.

    Foreign sponsors, however, need to take into account

    these developments while negotiating INR loan

    documentation.

    RBI regulations

    RBI guidelines now require banks to classify loans in

    respect of which interest or any instalment of principal

    remains unpaid for over 90 days as NPAs22 and where

    the default in payment is "wilful", i.e. the borrower has

    the capacity to honour its obligations but fails to do so,

    to take action against it23. "Hair trigger" covenantsincrease the risk of a loan being declared an NPA or

    the borrower to be a wilful defaulter. The term

    "default" as used in the guidelines should, however, be

    distinguished from "default" under the loan

    documentation. "Default" under the guidelines only

    refers to a payment default. Thus, a default under the

    guidelines would occur if the lenders demand early

    repayment of the loan (i.e. acceleration) as a result of

    a default under the loan documentation and no

    payment is made.

    Where a loan is declared to be an NPA:

    banks are required to make provisions for it intheir books;

    it cannot be recognised as income unless it isactually received; and

    the interest accrued and credited to the incomeaccount in past periods is to be reversed and not to

    be treated as income unless realised24.

    While there is no express regulatory requirement to

    recover NPAs, as a matter of prudent practice and to

    comply with the risk ratio / capital adequacy

    requirements (which will be affected due to theexistence of NPAs and provisioning requirements),

    banks may feel compelled take steps to recover loans

    that become NPAs or significantly increasing their

    monitoring thereby increasing risks for borrowers.

    The consequences for a borrower that is declared to

    be a wilful defaulter are more far-reaching. Thus:

    banks are mandatorily required to: report wilful defaulters to CIBIL or any similar

    agency authorised by the RBI;

    take action to recover the loan, which wouldinclude initiation of legal process "against the

    borrower/guarantors and foreclosure";

    banks may initiate criminal proceedings wherevernecessary;

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    no additional facilities can be granted by any bankor financial institution to wilful defaulters;

    directors of wilful defaulters are barred fromholding similar positions in companies in which

    banks or notified financial institutions have a

    significant stake; and

    promoters of wilful defaulters are barred frominstitutional finance for floating new ventures for a

    period of five years25.

    As a matter of practical reality, however, lenders are

    unlikely to accelerate for "immaterial" defaults

    especially in a project finance context because of the

    inefficiencies of the judicial process, although this

    could change once the enforcement process under the

    SARFAESI Act is strengthened or the commercialcourts envisaged under the Commercial Courts Bill

    become functional (please see below).

    SARFAESI Act

    Once a loan is classified as an NPA in a lender's books

    or a borrower is declared a wilful defaulter, the lender

    can proceed to recover the loan under the SARFAESI

    Act26 by simply issuing a notice to the borrower

    requiring it to pay the amount due within 60 days27. If

    the borrower fails to make payment within this period,

    the lender can:

    take possession of the secured assets; take over the management of the business of the

    borrower where it is held as security;

    appoint a manager of the secured assets whichhave been possessed; or

    issue a "garnishee" notice to any person who hasacquired any secured assets from the borrower and

    from whom any money is due to the borrower28.

    The borrower is entitled to raise objections to the

    enforcement of security by the lender and, if it does so,

    the lender is required to communicate its decision to

    the borrower within one week together with, wherethe lender rejects the borrower's objections, reasons

    for its rejection29. The borrower can contest the

    enforcement by making an application to the

    appropriate DRT30. Decisions of the DRT are

    appealable to the Appellate Tribunal if the borrower

    deposits 50 per cent of the amount claimed, which the

    Appellate Tribunal is empowered to reduce to 25 per

    cent31.

    The SARFAESI Act cannot be invoked to enforce

    (among other things) the following types of security:

    liens on any goods, money or security given underany other law;

    pledges of movables; security over ships and aircraft;

    where the amount secured is less thanINR100,000;

    where the amount due is less than 20 per cent ofthe principal amount and interest thereon; and

    security over agricultural land32.

    Commercial Courts Bill

    The lower house of the Indian Parliament passed the

    Commercial Courts Bill in its 2009 winter session. The

    bill, which is expected to be approved by the upper

    house during the monsoon session (2010) of

    Parliament, is based on the recommendations of the

    188th Report of the Law Commission of India and aims

    to expedite the adjudication of high value commercial

    disputes33 by establishing dedicated "commercial"

    divisions within every High Court on the lines of theCommercial Court of the Queen's Bench Division of the

    High Court (of England and Wales). Once these courts

    are established, it will be possible to obtain judgment

    within one year of the suit being filed as compared to

    the 10-15 years at present. This should significantly

    mitigate the risk of borrower default for lenders but

    borrowers will then need to ensure that the loan

    documentation is sufficiently flexible so as to enable

    them to conduct their day-to-day operations without

    fear of legal action by the lenders.

    Conclusion

    Although the Indian project finance market continues

    to go from strength to strength, INR loan

    documentation does not appear to have kept pace

    with developments or reflect many international

    "norms". There are a number of reasons for this. True

    non-recourse / limited recourse lending in India is still

    at an embryonic stage and it is not uncommon for

    lenders to request and be provided with some form of

    sponsor support even where the transaction is

    structured as a "project financing". A majority of the

    lenders in the Indian project finance market are public

    sector institutions that place considerable reliance onprecedent, which often results in an inflexible

    approach to negotiations. Difficulties in enforcing

    contracts through the courts have also contributed to

    a transactional process that is relationship- rather

    than documentation-driven. While this may provide

    greater flexibility, it increases uncertainty for foreign

    sponsors, many of whom will not be familiar with the

    intricacies of the lending market and practices in India.

    Foreign sponsors have addressed many of these risks

    by partnering with Indian companies who have the

    financial wherewithal, human resources and localknowledge to effectively manage the transaction

    process. It is significant that no foreign sponsor has

    "gone it alone" to date but if one does, it will need to

    ensure that its advisers are involved from a very early

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    stage in the negotiations and have the expertise

    necessary to navigate the often complex web of

    regulatory, bureaucratic and cultural relationships to

    effectively implement and manage the project.

    Regulatory developments such as the SARFAESI Act

    and the Commercial Courts Bill, however, mean that

    the approach to documentation will have to change

    because unenforceability risk will be considerably

    mitigated, tipping the balance in favour of lenders.

    Whether or not reduced risk of borrower default will be

    sufficient to dislodge entrenched lender positions on

    key issues, however, remains to be seen.

    The authors would like to thank DSK Legal for their

    assistance in the preparation of this briefing.

    Notes:

    1 Reuters, 13 January 2010.2 Reuters, 16 September 2009.3 See List of Projects Awarded during 2008-09 and 2009-10,

    www.nhai.org.

    4 Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi. See ProjectsDatabase, www.ijonline.com.

    5 "India Power investments lead the way", Infrastructure Journal,19 March 2010.

    6 "Government taking steps to attract FDI in power sector", TheEconomic Times, 25 May 2010.

    7 RBI/2009-10/390, DBOD. No Dir BC 88 /13.03.00/2009-10,www.rbi.org.in.

    8 India Prime Lending Rates (PLR) of banks, 6 April 2009,http://in.reuters.com.

    9 A glance at base rates of all the banks, 1 July 2010,www.moneycontrol.com.

    10 Indira Gandhi International Airport PPP, Tata's Mundra Ultra MegaPower Project and Palanpur - Swaropgunj Toll Road PPP. See

    Projects Database,www.ijonline.com.

    11 For projects that are not in the hospital, hotel or software sectors.For the latter type of project, the limit is US$100m in any financial

    year. See RBI Master Circular (No. 08/2010-11) on External

    Commercial Borrowings and Trade Credits dated 1 July 2010,

    www.rbi.org.in.

    12 www.cibil.com.13 RBI Master Circular on Wilful Defaulters dated 1 July 2010,

    RBI/2010-11/57, DBOD No. DL.BC. 20 /20.16.003/2010-11

    www.rbi.org.in.

    14 General Circular No: 8/2002 issued by the Department of CompanyAffairs.www.mca.gov.in.

    15 www.ijonline.com.16 See, for example, Art 6 of Schedule 1 to the Bombay Stamp Act

    1958.

    17 Under Article 246 read with Seventh Schedule, List II, Entry 63 ofthe Constitution of India.

    18 Where title to mortgaged property is conveyed to the mortgageesubject to the mortgagor's equity of redemption.

    19 See, for example, the observations of the 3rd Circuit Court ofAppeals (New York) in Bhatnagar -v- Surendra Overseas Limited

    (1995) 52 F.2.d. 1220 (3rd Cir) and more recently of the New YorkSupreme Court in Modi Enterprises -v- ESPN (2003) and referred to

    in the 188th Report of the Law Commission of India available at

    www.lawcommissionofindia.nic.in.

    20 Mardia Chemicals -v- Union of India, AIR 2004 SC 2371.21 See, for example, ibid.22 RBI Master Circular on Prudential Norms and Asset Classification

    dated 1 July 2010, RBI/2010-11/74, DBOD.No.BP.BC.21

    /21.04.048/2010-11www.rbi.org.in.

    23 RBI Master Circular on Wilful Defaulters, supra.24 RBI Master Circular on Prudential Norms and Asset Classification,

    supra.

    25 RBI Master Circular on Wilful Defaulters, supra.26 Section 13(1) of the SARFAESI Act.27 Section 13(2) of the SARFAESI Act.28 Section 13(4) of the SARFAESI Act.29 Section 13(3A) of the SARFAESI Act.30 Section 17 of the SARFAESI Act.31 Section 18 of the SARFAESI Act.32 Section 31 of the SARFAESI Act.33 Above INR50m.

    http://www.nhai.org/http://www.nhai.org/http://www.nhai.org/http://www.ijonline.com/http://www.ijonline.com/http://www.rbi.org.in/http://www.rbi.org.in/http://in.reuters.com/http://in.reuters.com/http://in.reuters.com/http://www.moneycontrol.com/http://www.moneycontrol.com/http://www.ijonline.com/http://www.ijonline.com/http://www.ijonline.com/http://www.rbi.org.in/http://www.rbi.org.in/http://www.rbi.org.in/http://www.cibil.com/http://www.cibil.com/http://www.rbi.org.in/http://www.rbi.org.in/http://www.rbi.org.in/http://www.mca.gov.in/http://www.mca.gov.in/http://www.mca.gov.in/http://www.mca.gov.in/http://www.ijonline.com/http://www.ijonline.com/http://www.lawcommissionofindia.nic.in/http://www.rbi.org.in/http://www.rbi.org.in/http://www.rbi.org.in/http://in.reuters.com/http://www.rbi.org.in/http://www.lawcommissionofindia.nic.in/http://www.ijonline.com/http://www.mca.gov.in/http://www.rbi.org.in/http://www.cibil.com/http://www.rbi.org.in/http://www.ijonline.com/http://www.moneycontrol.com/http://www.rbi.org.in/http://www.ijonline.com/http://www.nhai.org/
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    Ashurst and India

    Ashurst has had a very long historic association with India and was a pioneer among the international law firmswhen we first set up a licensed office in India in 1994.

    Ashurst has been very active in the Indian market since the first phase of deregulation and liberalisation, and our

    India practice group has developed invaluable experience over the past 16 years in dealing with and obtaining

    information from the government and regulatory agencies and liaising with local lawyers and other offices and

    parties in India. Due to local restrictions on legal service, our Indian lawyers are based in our offices outside of

    India.

    Key features of our India group include:

    A dedicated and coordinated India practice group across Europe, the Middle East and Asia comprising over 50English and Indian qualified lawyers.

    A strong track record of successfully concluded deals in India, particularly in the infrastructure sector. The ability to advise on strategy and policy in India, based on the extensive knowledge and experience of

    members of the group.

    A detailed understanding within the group of the legal, business and political scene in India that is ofrelevance and interest to our clients.

    Experience in working with Indian law firms in a seamless fashion.

    For more detail on Ashurst's experience in India or on our India group, please speak to any of the contacts listed

    below or clickhere.

    India group contacts

    London Richard Gubbins T: +44 (0)20 7859 1252 E: [email protected]

    London Ian Scott T: +44 (0)20 7859 1704 E: [email protected]

    London Lee McDonald T: +44 (0)20 7859 1793 E: [email protected]

    London Mark Elsey T: +44 (0)20 7859 1721 E: [email protected]

    Brussels Carl Meyntjens T: +32 (0)2 626 1911 E: [email protected]

    Dubai Joss Dare T: +971 (0)4 365 2000 E: [email protected]

    Hong Kong Robert Ogilvy Watson T: +852 2846 8989 E: [email protected]

    Hong Kong Matthias Schemuth T: +852 2846 8989 E: [email protected]

    Madrid Gonzalo Jimnez-Blanco T: +34 91 364 9845 E: [email protected]

    Munich Meiko Zeppenfeld T: +49 (0)89 24 44 21 148 E: [email protected]

    Milan Franco Vigliano T: +39 02 85 42 34 51 E: [email protected]

    Paris Michel Lequien T: +33 (0)1 53 53 52 80 E: [email protected]

    Singapore Matthew Bubb T: +65 6416 0272 E: [email protected]

    Singapore Keith McGuire T: +65 6416 3340 E: [email protected]

    Tokyo Rupert Burrows T: +81 3 5405 6205 E: [email protected]

    Tokyo Harvey Weaver T: +81 3 5405 6209 E: [email protected]

    Tokyo Shri Maski T :+81 3 5405 6200 E : [email protected]

    Washington DC Richard Davis T: +1 202 912 8002 E: [email protected]

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    This publication is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all developments in the law and practice, or to cover all aspects of those referred to.Readers should take legal advice before applying the information contained in this publication to specific issues or transactions. For more informationplease contact us at Ashurst LLP, Broadwalk House, 5 Appold Street, London EC2A 2HA T: +44 (0)20 7638 1111 F: +44 (0)20 7638 1112www.ashurst.com.

    Ashurst LLP and its affiliated undertakings operate under the name Ashurst. Ashurst LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England andWales under number OC330252. It is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority of England and Wales. The term "partner" is used to refer to amember of Ashurst LLP or to an employee or consultant with equivalent standing and qualifications or to an individual with equivalent status in one ofAshurst LLP's affiliated undertakings. Further details about Ashurst LLP and its affiliated undertakings can be found at www.ashurst.com. Ashurst LLP 2010 Ref:481860 2 September 2010

    Abu Dhabi

    Suite 101, Tower C2

    Al Bateen Towers

    Bainunah (34th) Street

    Al Bateen

    PO Box 93529

    Abu Dhabi

    United Arab Emirates

    T: +971 (0)2 406 7200

    F: +971 (0)2 406 7250

    Brussels

    Avenue Louise 489

    1050 BrusselsBelgium

    T: +32 (0)2 626 1900

    F: +32 (0)2 626 1901

    Dubai

    Level 5, Gate Precinct Building 3

    Dubai International Financial Centre

    PO Box 119974

    Dubai

    United Arab Emirates

    T: +971 (0)4 365 2000

    F: +971 (0)4 365 2050

    Frankfurt

    OpernTurm

    Bockenheimer Landstrae 2-4

    60306 Frankfurt am Main

    Germany

    T: +49 (0)69 97 11 26

    F: +49 (0)69 97 20 52 20

    Hong Kong

    16/F ICBC Tower

    Citibank Plaza

    3 Garden Road

    Central, Hong Kong

    T: +852 2846 8989

    F: +852 2868 0898

    London

    Broadwalk House

    5 Appold Street

    London EC2A 2HA

    UK

    T: +44 (0)20 7638 1111

    F: +44 (0)20 7638 1112

    Madrid

    Alcal, 44

    28014 Madrid

    Spain

    T: +34 91 364 9800

    F: +34 91 364 9801/02

    Milan

    Via Sant'Orsola, 3

    20123 Milan

    Italy

    T: +39 02 85 42 31

    F: +39 02 85 42 34 44

    Munich

    Prinzregentenstrae 18

    80538 Munich

    Germany

    T: +49 (0)89 24 44 21 100F: +49 (0)89 24 44 21 101

    New York

    Times Square Tower

    7 Times Square

    New York, NY 10036

    USA

    T: +1 212 205 7000

    F: +1 212 205 7020

    Paris

    18, square Edouard VII

    75009 ParisFrance

    T: +33 (0)1 53 53 53 53

    F: +33 (0)1 53 53 53 54

    Singapore

    55 Market Street

    #07-01

    Singapore 048941

    T: +65 6221 2214

    F: +65 6221 5484

    Stockholm

    Birger Jarlsgatan 6B

    Box 55564

    102 04 Stockholm

    Sweden

    T: +46 (0)8 407 24 00

    F: +46 (0)8 407 24 40

    Tokyo

    Shiroyama Trust Tower, 30th Floor

    4-3-1 Toranomon, Minato-Ku

    Tokyo 105-6030

    Japan

    T: +81 3 5405 6200

    F: +81 3 5405 6222

    Washington DC

    1875 K Street NW

    Washington, DC 20006

    USAT: +1 202 912 8000

    F: +1 202 912 8050