StartupTalky

Tag: ship

  • AGB Shipyard Fraud: How the ‘Biggest Banking Fraud of India’ Was Unfolded?

    ABG Shipyard has been making news in recent days. The scam by this shipbuilding business has not only placed the Narendra Modi administration under scrutiny but has also thrown the opposition and the Modi government into a political fight. The ABG Shipyard Limited, a Gujarat-based shipbuilding enterprise, was accused of defrauding a consortium of 28 banks, including the State Bank of India (SBI), IDBI, and ICICI, for Rs 22,800 crores.

    Know more about the scam in this article.

    About ABG Shipyard
    AGB Shipyard Fraud: How Did the Fraud Come to Light?
    AGB Shipyard Fraud: Actions Taken by SBI Against the company
    AGB Shipyard Fraud: Banks Involved in the Case
    AGB Shipyard Fraud: Why Is It Considered As India’s Biggest Bank Fraud?
    AGB Shipyard Fraud: Timeline of the events

    About ABG Shipyard

    Without a doubt, ABG Shipyard is the largest private shipyard in India. The organisation has a large client base around the globe. They are the first to create all-aluminium jet-propelled watercraft that are powered by diesel-electric dynamic ships.

    The company’s registered office and yard are both located in Surat, Gujarat. The company’s first ship was delivered in the year 1990. In the 15 years after its inception in 1991, the firm has grown to become India’s largest private sector shipbuilding yard, with a global client base of happy clients.

    AGB Shipyard Fraud: How Did the Fraud Come to Light?

    Based on a complaint from the State Bank of India, the Enforcement Directorate filed a money-laundering investigation against Gujarat-based ABG Shipyard, which has been described as being implicated in “India’s biggest bank scam in history.” The company’s chairman, Rishi Kamlesh Agarwal, has been questioned by the CBI for defaulting on loans of Rs 22,842 crore that ABG Shipyard obtained from 28 banks.

    According to the CBI, a forensic audit conducted by Ernst & Young in 2019 indicated that funds were diverted to other linked firms, with loans reportedly being utilised for investments through offshore subsidiaries. According to the examining agency, these loans were not utilised for the intended purpose, thereby breaking the agreements.

    AGB Shipyard Fraud: Actions Taken by SBI Against the company

    On November 8, 2019, the SBI filed a complaint on a very serious note in order to get strong clarifications, and on March 12, 2020, the SBI requested explanations too. In August of that year, the bank filed a new case. The CBI moved on the complaint after “scrutinising” it for over a year and a half, registering the FIR on February 7 this year.

    The SBI said in its lawsuit that the problem was caused by the global economic slump and the shipbuilding sector, according to the news agency Press Trust of India. It had “affected the shipping sector as a result of a drop in commodities demand and prices, as well as a drop in cargo demand.”

    AGB Shipyard Fraud: Banks Involved in the Case

    According to a case filed by the State Bank of India, AGB Shipyard owes the bank 2,925 crores, ICICI Bank 7,089 crore, IDBI Bank 3,634 crore, Bank of Baroda 1,614 crore, Punjab National Bank (PNB) 1,244 crore, and Indian Overseas Bank 1,228 crore (IOB).

    According to CBI, the funds were utilised for reasons other than those for which they were given by banks. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has opened a second money laundering inquiry into them.

    The Curious Case of Ex-NSE Chief, Chitra Ramkrishna and Himalayan Yogi
    Chitra Ramkrishna, an Ex-CEO of NSE was arrested in the Himalayan yogi scandal. Know about the complete story and allegations against her.
    StartupTalkyHarshit Verma

    AGB Shipyard Fraud: Why Is It Considered As India’s Biggest Bank Fraud?

    Previous diamond merchant Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi’s scams totalled about Rs 14,000 crore, while Vijay Mallya’s fraud was Rs 9,900 crore. The case of AGB Shipyard has crossed amounts of all the previous scams in history.

    Former Chairman and MD of ABG Shipyard Limited Rishi Kamlesh Agarwal, former executive director Santhanam Muthaswamy, and directors Ashwini Kumar, Sushil Kumar Agarwal, and Ravi Vimal Nevatia have all been charged by the investigating agency and the officials. Meanwhile, searches have been carried out in 13 ABG Shipyard facilities.

    ABG Shipyard is the subject of a forensic audit that was organised and conducted by Ernst & Young LLP. Between April 2012 and July 2017, it uncovers evidence of fraud. According to the audit, fraud was committed through “finances diversion, theft, and criminal breach of trust, with the goal of gaining unlawfully at the expense of the bank’s funds.”

    ABG Shipyard received loans from 28 institutions in the form of three distinct types of loans. The funds generated from these loans were subsequently funnelled through 98 sister concern firms for mostly personal benefit.

    AGB Shipyard Fraud: Timeline of the events

    1985: The ABG Group’s flagship enterprise, ABG Shipyard Ltd, was founded. It was run and operated by Rishi Kamlesh Agarwal and is in the shipbuilding and repair industry, with shipyards in Gujarat’s Dahesh and Surat cities. It is financed by a consortium of 28 banks, with ICICI being the principal bank.

    2005-2008: Despite warnings of danger from the global financial crisis of 2008, banks continue to lend grandly to ABG Shipyards.

    2008: The worldwide financial crisis, which was sparked by the housing bubble in the United States and the fall of Lehman Brothers, affected ABG Shipyards.

    2014: Under corporate debt restructuring, or CDR, SBI tries to restructure debts to ABG Shipyard. The reorganisation failed terribly because ABG Shipyards was unable to pay the interest and instalments on time and with parity.

    2019: SBI identified the fraud in January 2019.

    2020: SBI filed a complaint in 2019 and then again a detailed complaint in 2020.

    2022: ABG Shipyard and ABG International Private Ltd are both booked by CBI. According to the CBI’s FIR, ABG SL owes a total of Rs 22,842 crore.

    The CBI has issued lookout notices for Rishi Agarwal, ABG executives Santhanam Muthuswamy and Ashwini Kumar, and founder Rishi Agarwal.

    The Complete Story Behind the UP Businessman Piyush Jain
    A UP businessman, Piyush Jain, a perfume bizman from Kanuaj Kanpur was recently raided and 200 crores were found. Let’s look at the complete story.
    StartupTalkyHarshit Verma

    Conclusion

    Meanwhile, the opposition, led by the Congress party, had accused the Narendra Modi administration of participating in “India’s biggest bank fraud” of Rs 22,842 crore, which is larger than Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi’s PNB scandal of Rs 14,000 crore and breaks the history of scams. The BJP government at the Centre pointed out that the fraud occurred during the UPA administration, the Congress retaliated by questioning why it took the CBI and SBI nearly seven years to find the crime. Along with that, the banks are in a terrible position of attempting to recoup their losses.

    FAQ

    What happened to ABG Shipyard?

    The CBI has filed a complaint against ABG Shipyard for cheating 28 banks of Rs 22,482 crores.

    Who is the owner of ABG Shipyard?

    Rishi Kamlesh Agarwal is the owner and chairman of ABG Shipyard.

  • Why Carnival, the biggest Cruise company, facing shortage of ships to deliver?

    The tourism and hospitality industry were the most affected during the Coronavirus pandemic and is still said to have been reviving from it. Some of the 5-star hotels have been shut down as they did not have the revenue to pay the employees.

    Carnival which is the world’s biggest cruise company has reported that their demand has been increasing. The company had sold around 19 ships during the pandemic and reduced its capacity to 13%. But now the company is planning to buy back the ship and increase it by around 2.5%. In this article let’s look at the reason for the increase in demand.

    Carnival – Latest News
    Reason Why demand for Ships Increased
    Carnival CEO on the Rising Demand of Cruise bookings
    Carnival CEO on Covid Precautions
    Carnival CEO on Unvaccinated Passengers
    Carnival Company’s new Cruise launch
    FAQ

    Carnival – Latest News

    Carnival is the world’s biggest cruise company. The CEO of Carnival has conveyed that there is a huge demand for travel and the number of strips is outnumbered by the demand. The CEO of Carnival Corp has stated that the demand across its 9 cruise lines is rapidly increasing and added that the Americans are enthusiastic and eager to get back on the water.

    Arnold Donald, the CEO of the world’s biggest cruise company has said that people are impatiently waiting to get back to cruise again. He added that the company has no issues in being able to fill the ships. People are ready to sail but the fact is that the company has far more demand compared to the ships that they have available right now to supply.

    Reason Why demand for Ships Increased

    The CEO has stated that the people are confident about the safety measures taken by cruises and even the vaccine roll out is being continued in the United States. The vaccine shots have acted as a huge game changer and according to Arnold Donald, the bookings were vigorous and the most highest in the history of the company.

    People are ready and are spending a lot of money on board. Travelers are eager to spend their money on extra cash items such as Casinos, luxury meals, massages, etc.

    Carnival CEO on the Rising Demand of Cruise bookings

    Arnold Donald has said that during the second quarter of the company’s business update that was held on 24 June 2021, the company has conveyed that the booking volume of the cruises in the future was higher than the 1st quarter of up to more than 45%. He stated that the advance bookings for 2022 were way higher than 2019 due to the increased demand amongst the people.

    Revenue of Carnival Corporation & plc worldwide
    Revenue of Carnival Corporation & plc worldwide

    Business Travel Management Trends And Impact Of Covid-19
    The travel that is carried out for doing business with someone else is called business travel. Global business travel was largely halted during the epidemic. Covid-19 has affected a few businesses in the travel industry. Let us discuss about business travel management trends.
    StartupTalkyATHUL C K

    Carnival CEO on Covid Precautions

    While speaking about the Covid precautions taken on board the CEO of Carnival Corp has conveyed that some of the cruise lines of Carnival including Costa, have been sailing out of Europe during the Pandemic.

    He added that most of the travelers were unvaccinated but the company had ensured that it took necessary precautions and followed the basic SOPs such as social distancing, wearing masks, periodical Covid tests and intense medical screenings.

    The CEO added that the guest satisfaction scores were flying high as there were less than 50 cases of Covid positive reported out of around 400,000 guests that were onboard.

    The company is expecting some unvaccinated people to be on board from the United States and also adds that these passengers and Travelers will have to take the necessary Covid measures which include wearing masks and periodic Covid tests.

    Carnival CEO on Unvaccinated Passengers

    The world’s biggest cruise and also the celebrity cruise had laid down new regulations that were subjected for the unvaccinated passengers. The passengers or travelers that haven’t taken the vaccination or did not want to show the proof of vaccination intake will have to go through certain onboard restrictions, additional costs and Covid tests. However, the company has conveyed that the passengers who are fully vaccinated would prevent from the risk of spreading the Covid-19.

    The CEO conveyed that if the virus is on board, then there are chances that the passengers would catch it even though the company has put a lot of restrictions. However, he clarified it by adding that they can’t guarantee on not being a single case on board but the chances of an outbreak seem to be really low.

    A fully vaccinated cruise, Royal Caribbean cruise that was sailing from the Bahamas has tested two positive cases of Covid-19 from two of the passengers on board. Both the passengers were under the age of 16 and were exempted from the vaccine mandate.

    5 Fast-Growing Businesses You Should Invest In
    Entrepreneurs and people looking to invest in businesses have never had itbetter than they do today. Along with online platforms that provide highervisibility to startups [https://startuptalky.com/tag/gurugram-startups/] and SMEs,consumers are displaying more acceptance and appreciation for produ…
    StartupTalkyShubham Kumar

    Carnival Company’s new Cruise launch

    The company has a launched a new cruise which is the latest cruise. The cruise would set its sail on 31 July 2021 from Port Canaveral to Easter and the Western Caribbean. The cruise is the first in the world to have a roller-coaster on board and also the first cruise in the Northern America to be run on a liquefied natural gas.

    Conclusion

    The company is expected to sailing at least 52% of its capacity by the end of November and is expecting to have its entire fleet into operation by the spring of 2022.

    FAQ

    Has Carnival Cancelled any cruises?

    Carnival Cruise Line cancelled some of its July 2021 cruises, but it will still sail some ships from the U.S. in July.

    What is the Revenue of Carnival cruise?

    The revenue of Carnival Cruise in 2020 was 559.5 crores USD.

    What is Carnival Cruise net worth?

    The net worth of Carnival in 2020 was US$−10.236 billion, as due to Covid restrictions the company faced a huge loss.

  • How India-UK Agreement will benefit Indian Entrepreneurs?

    The United Kingdom has been trying to negotiate with India in terms of a free trade agreement between both the counties. The UK has launched a 14-week consultation process in order to seek the opinions from the public as well as businesses before negotiating on the agreement. Let’s look at what exactly is the free trade agreement and how it would benefit the countries.

    Free Trade Agreement – Latest News
    What is Free Trade Agreement?
    How India-UK agreement will double the trade between UK and India?
    What are the 5 Cs in India-UK Free Trade Agreement?
    Other Advantages of India-UK agreement
    FAQ

    Free Trade Agreement – Latest News

    The trade secretary of the UK, Liz Truss had begun the preparations for the trade deal between India and the UK. The country wants to remove the trade barriers in order to conduct the business and trade with India which includes removing a tariff of 150% on whisky and 125% on British-made cars.

    The UK government is looking forward to seeking opinions from consumers and businesses from different sectors in order to help in crafting a deal that would help in increasing cooperation in the future. The industries which will be concentrated include science, technology and services which are expected to create high value jobs in the UK.

    What is Free Trade Agreement?

    A Free trade agreement is a situation or an pact between two or more nations in regards to imports and exports in between the countries. It can be understood as a removal of the barriers involved in imports and exports.

    Under a free trade agreement good and services can be purchased or sold across international borders with very little or zero government intervention such as charging of tariffs, quotas, prohibitions or subsidiaries.

    Choose From The Best Trade Business Ideas
    Trade business ideas are essential financial ideas. It includes the purchasingand selling of product and services. There are monetary transactions being donein exchange for the product and services. Exchange can occur inside an economybetween the producers as well as the consumers. Trading busin…
    StartupTalkyBaishali Das Adhikari

    How India-UK agreement will double the trade between UK and India?

    Both the countries already have a trade agreement and according to 2019, the trade between India and UK was worth 23 billion Euros and both the countries want to double the figures by the end of 2030. The recent free trade agreement is focused on concentrating much more than the movement of goods.

    The free trade agreement concentrates on covering services, digital business and SMEs. So, it is expected to have a huge amount of content in a free trade agreement.

    India exports to United Kingdom
    India exports to United Kingdom

    What are the 5 Cs in India-UK Free Trade Agreement?

    While both the governments are moving forward with the free trade agreement, it is expected to be characterized based on the 5 Cs.

    1C

    Where the 1st C would be Covid which both the countries have and are still suffering from. In India, the second wave has seen a drastic rise in the number of cases. The United Kingdom has been sending a lot of medical supplies and even both the countries are working together in rolling out the vaccines. Around a billion doses of Oxford-Astra Zeneca vaccines are being produced by the Serum Institute of India.

    2C

    The 2nd C would be commerce and the main focus of the Free trade agreement as seen both the countries are trying to double the trade by the year 2030. It is also seen that around half a million of jobs in each other’s economy are supported through the trade. India is also keen on UK’s expertise in Life sciences, Med Tech and diagnostics.

    3C

    The 3rd C refers to the community. It refers to the British Indian community which is expected to be around 1.5 million providing an advantage to the relationship. It is considered that the Anglo-Indian community is an entrepreneurial one and research has shown that around 174,000 people are employed under the companies owned by Anglo-Indians and all the companies have a combined revenue of over 35 billion Euros.

    4C

    4th C refers to the commonwealth which is considered to be the important glue of the relationship. The UK is the chair in the office with India in the commonwealth and India is a founding member of the Commonwealth summit. Both the countries are working together to increase the effectiveness.

    5C

    The 5th C which is the final one refers to the climatic changes. In the month of November, the UK will host COP-26 which is a climate change talks and India being the key country that is expected to be most affected by global warming will have a scope to working together in finding shared solutions. They have already started by scaling up the electric mobility market in the country.

    How India is boycotting Chinese products
    In this time of pandemic, China is pushing borders against India and otherneighboring countries.China has a powerful and bigger weapon and that is Economyand that is why China is getting political. China is using its economy todominate our neighbouring countries and thus it is becoming a superpow…
    StartupTalkyKrishna kumar

    Other Advantages of India-UK Agreement

    It is expected that the UK will open up its fisheries sector to more Indian players, providing more opportunities for nurses and in return, India lifts the restrictions to import British fruits to the country and improved access to medical services. These actions are expected to create around 25,000 direct and indirect jobs in India.

    Ranil Jayawardena who is the international trade minister of the UK has conveyed that the trade deal with India will break down certain barriers and will make it easier for British Businesses to sell goods in India. It will also help in gaining more investments, increasing wages and lowering prices in Britain.

    FAQ

    Is there a free trade agreement between UK and India?

    Yes, UK and India has signed a free trade agreement which is concentrated on science, technology and services.

    Which country has the most free trade agreements?

    UK has the most free trade agreements with 37 FTA agreements with  different countries.

    Is FTA beneficial for India?

    Yes, FTA is beneficial for India as it will ease export in the country and will create more jobs for the people of India.

    Conclusion

    Over the last 10-15 years the European Union had tried to sign a free trade agreement with India and failed. But since now the UK is an independent nation it is considered that the chances of getting into an agreement with India are higher than it was ever been.

  • The Economic Outcomes of the Suez Canal crisis

    The recent news about the blockage of the Suez Canal has gained a lot of popularity on social media. The pictures of the blockage have been widely spread in the online world as memes. But the economic outcomes of the blockage of Suez canal are severe.

    Let’s look at the Economic Outcomes of the Suez Canal crisis

    What happened at Suez canal
    Economic outcome of the Suez Canal crisis
    Loss due to the Suez Canal crisis
    Effect on Crude oil prices
    Other consequences due to the Suez Canal crisis
    FAQ

    What happened at Suez canal

    A giant cargo ship which is 400 meter in length has blocked the Suez Canal. The Canal has been blocked by the ship for the past few days. The ship which is operated by the Taiwanese transport company evergreen marine is one of the world’s largest biggest container vessels.

    The ship weighs 200,000 tones and has a maximum capacity of 20,000 containers. It is said that the ship had lost control after it entered the narrow passage of the Suez Canal from the Red Sea. The salvage company which is trying to refloat the ship has said that it might take weeks for them to complete the task.

    Peter Berdowski who is the CEO of Dutch company Boskalis who is also one of the rescue teams trying to free the ship has said that depending on the situation, they can’t exclude that it might take weeks.

    Economic outcome of the Suez Canal crisis

    The ship has stopped 12% of the world’s seaborne trade and has already cost losses of billions. Almost 50 percent of the container ships pass through the Canal on a daily basis and around 30% of the global container traffic passes through it.
    The current situation is expected to cause a great damage to the global trade. It is expected that the prices of all essential commodities will increase.

    Suez Canal Crisis
    Suez Canal Crisis

    Trucking Industry In India | How To Start Trucking Business In India
    The transportation system of a nation is crucial for its financial improvementand social development. Transportation by road is favourable for different typesof vehicles due to its simplicity, adaptability, administration, anddependability. In this manner, the share of cargo, truck, and traveller…
    StartupTalkyDevashish Shrivastava

    Loss due to the Suez Canal crisis

    The experts fear that the blockage has led to severe effect on the economy and the global trade. The blockage is costing around 400 million (around INR 2.8k crores) per hour, as ships are asked to take a longer route to reach their destinations.

    Experts have said that this is the worst ship blockage ever witnessed. It is said that many cargo ships which have been diverted would take another 5-6 days to reach their destination.

    Effect on Crude oil prices

    It is said that more than 200 containers carry crude oils through the Canal on a daily basis. Experts have also told that the major hit would be for the small tankers and the crude oil exports from Europe to Asia.

    The director of Asia oil at FGE Sri Paravaikkarasu has said that around 20% of Asia’s Naphtha which is crude oil is supplied through the Suez Canal. He said that re-routing of the ships would add more amount of fuel consumption for the ships that is around 800 tones and increase its operating expenses.

    The shortage in the availability of the crude oil will lead to a jump in the crude oil prices. It is said that the crude oil prices have already increased due to the fear of the crude oil Suez Canal blockage in the past few days.

    Data from Refinitiv has suggested that around 30 oil tankers have been waiting at both the sides of the Suez Canal. David Fyfe who is a chief economist at Argus Media which is a market research firm said that around 5-10 percent of the global shipments passing through the Suez Canal are crude oil, refined oil, and liquefied natural gas shipments.

    How the fluctuations in Oil prices impact the economy.
    Oil prices fluctuate quickly in response to new cycles, policy changes, and fluctuations in the world trades and it impacts the economy in certain ways .The recent change in oil prices has been driven by a number of factors whichincludes several years of upward surprises in the production of unco…
    StartupTalkyVibhavari Madki

    Other consequences due to the Suez Canal crisis

    Lars Jensen who is an independent container shipping expert based in Denmark has said that basically anything you see in the stores would be in shortage because of the blockage in the Suez Canal.

    This includes everything from toilet papers, coffee, furniture, clothes, shoes, exercise equipment to car parts, carpets, and electronics. The blockage has also delayed e-commerce product deliveries which even include food.

    Ian woods who is a marine cargo lawyer and partner at the London-based firm Clyde and Co. has said that, there are commodities worth millions of dollars on other ships waiting for the blockage to be cleared.

    If the blockage is not cleared quickly then they would consider taking longer routes which will increase the operational charges and these extra charges will be carried down to the consumers.

    It is said that eventually the consumers will have to pay the price and this blockage would have a deep impact on the end consumers. The exact amount and the exact effect of the blockage are not yet analyzed but the more it delays the consequences will increase.

    Each day of delay will add more billions of dollars of losses towards the global trade and the economy.

    FAQ

    What country owns the Suez Canal?

    The Suez Canal is operated and owned by Egypt.

    What country built the Suez Canal?

    In 1854, Ferdinand de Lesseps, the former French consul to Cairo, secured an agreement with the Ottoman governor of Egypt to build a canal 100 miles across the Suez.

    Why did Great Britain want to control the Suez Canal?

    Great Britain wanted to control the Suez canal, because it allowed them quicker access to its colonies in Asia and Africa.

    When did Britain buy the Suez Canal?

    In 1875 Britain bought Suez Canal from the Egyptians in £4million worth of shares.

    Conclusion

    However, Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority is looking forward to cooperating with the United States in efforts to refloat the container ship which has blocked the Suez Canal for the past few days. According to Arab News, the Canal revenue for Egypt was $5.6 billion in 2020.