Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) on Wednesday said it is planning to generate up to ₹5,000 crore of liquidity by selling down project finance loans and also monetise a non-core asset even as its management rejected allegations of any wrongdoing by its promoters.
The company’s management dubbed as unfounded and malicious the allegations made by website Cobrapost that its promoters siphoned off more than ₹31,000 crore.
In an early morning call with investors, organised to address various concerns with reference to the allegations, Kapil Wadhawan, Chairman and Managing Director, underscored DHFL will be able to generate liquidity of another ₹4,000-5,000 crore in the next few months via sell-down of project finance loans.
DHFL is also in advanced stages of selling a non-core asset that will bring in non-dilutive capital.
The company is reportedly planning to sell its 9.15 per cent stake in Aadhar Housing Finance.
Wadhawan said last Friday DHFL raised ₹1,375 crore from Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. by securitisation of loans in its project finance portfolio. He emphasised that this transaction highlights the high quality nature of DHFL’s loan portfolio and its ability to generate liquidity in a tough market.
At a press meet in New Delhi on Tuesday, Cobrapost accused the primary promoters of DHFL of siphoning off more than ₹31,000 crore of public money through secured loans and advances to shell companies, round-tripping, tax avoidance and insider trading. The company’s management alleged that the website’s so-called ‘expose’ is based on a frivolous complaint filed by one Vikas Shekhar, who claimed to be a DHFL shareholder. They added that the said Vikas Shekhar is not a shareholder, borrower or lender to DHFL.
The management said its audit committee, at its meeting held on January 25, had decided to appoint an external firm of chartered accountants to verify the details of the complaint and the allegations contained therein.
The company claimed that it has strong reasons to believe that the filing of the complaint against it, its circulation and media publication, are a conspiracy hatched by certain persons to malign its reputation and cause volatility in the stock market.
DHFL said it has engaged a team of reputed senior advocates to strongly defend itself and initiate appropriate legal action against all those involved in such activities.