JP Morgan to set up asset reconstruction company

JP Morgan Securities is setting up an asset reconstruction company (ARC) in the country.

Sanjai Vohra, managing director, Asia-Pacific special situations, JP Morgan Securities, said on the sidelines of a seminar in Mumbai that the group was in the process of seeking regulatory approval for setting up the ARC.

Vohra added that the company had already identified and tied up partnerships for the proposed venture, but declined to name them.

"We are in the early stages of discussion and details are being put in place. It is too early to announce the names," he said. Vohra also refused to comment by when the ARC would be in place, but said he expected it to "happen soon". JP Morgan had already picked up around six distressed assets in the country and was looking out for more, he said.

The company has invested around $700-800 million in distressed assets and principal investments in the Asian markets, but declined to say how much of that was invested in the country's market. Vohra added that the existing Indian assets might not be transferred to the new company immediately. "We will see as we go along," he said.

Asked about the timing of the ARC, Vohra said given that the country's economy was booming, the chances of turning around a non-performing asset was better now than at a time when the economy was not doing so well.

JP Morgan is the second player in the recent months to announce the setting up of an ARC. Anil Ambani's Reliance Capital has already approached the Reserve Bank of India for approval to promote an ARC, Reliance Asset Reconstruction Company. It has tied up with Corporation Bank, Indian Bank, General Insurance and some foreign players as equity partners.

A number of foreign banks and funds have shown interest in the country's bad loan market. US-based George Soros and US fund Blue Ridge have acquired 26 per cent stake in Reliance Asset Reconstruction, while Barclays is close to picking up a stake of nearly 10 per cent in ICICI Bank-promoted ARCIL.