Party ending for India's beer king

Mumbai

THE party appears to be ending for Vijay Mallya, the tycoon behind India's best-selling beer.

Lenders will auction the Mumbai office of his Kingfisher Airlines on March 17, about three years after its planes were grounded and employees stopped getting paid. Mr Mallya - whose flagship beer brand carries the slogan "King of Good Times" - is one of the most visible among India's so-called "wilful defaulters" who don't pay back loans despite banks' claims that they have the funds to do so.