Chairman of the Essel Group Dr Subhash Chandra, in an exclusive interview with Zee Business, stated that the group will soon become debt-free.
The chairman added that the company’s aim is to service debt by selling assets, and till now, it has successfully repaid Rs 40,000 crore ($4.8 billion) to the lenders.
So far, “we have paid Rs 50,000 crore ($6 billion) in interest as well,” Dr Chandra stated.
He further added that the debt has been repaid by the group by selling some highly valuable assets and that his home has also been mortgaged to repay the debt. Dr Chandra said that they have pledged to repay everyone’s debt with humility.
He further informed that Dish TV is debt-free today and the Zee Enterprises-Sony merger process is also expected to soon get completed.
The chairperson said that he has been mentoring startups these days. Speaking about the ups and downs of life, Dr Chandra said, “A strong person never runs away from the problem but fights it.”
He further added that bad times taught him a lot.
When did the debt-repayment process begin?
The chairman of Essel Group, which has finished its 97 years, said that the group started repaying debt in January 2019. “It was our aim to repay all our debts by March 31, 2023; however, it couldn’t be executed as the assets couldn’t be sold due to some reasons,” said Dr Chandra. He, however, added that some assets will be sold, after which the debt will be repaid.
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Dr Subhas Chandra on lenders
Speaking about some lenders who are creating controversies around debt, Dr Chandra said that Essel Group has received a lot of support of lenders. In his words, “Lenders know that Essel Group has repaid the debt by selling valuable assets.” The chairman further stated that Essel Group has never defaulted from 1967 to 2019.
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