Distressed debt players drawn to India bad loans

Singapore

INDIA'S bad loans are drawing distressed debt specialists as policymakers get tough on delinquent borrowers and welcome foreign investment to spur the economy.

SSG Capital Management Ltd, the Hong Kong-based fund manager founded by former traders from Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, bought a 49 per cent stake in India's distressed-investment specialist Assets Care & Reconstruction Enterprise Ltd in September. Apollo Global Management LLC raised US$825 million in May with partner ICICI Bank Ltd, India's largest private-sector lender by assets. The World Bank's International Finance Corp (IFC) is considering stakes in bad-loan managers.