India banks to plan resolving $19 bn power sector debt on Thursday

Lenders to India’s power industry are scheduled to meet Thursday to discuss ways to resolve 1.4 trillion rupees ($19.2 billion) of stressed assets that’s hobbling the sector, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The meeting will be hosted in New Delhi by Power Finance Corp., a state-owned firm that lends to the country’s electricity generators, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the details aren’t public. Representatives from the finance and power ministries, and Rural Electrification Corp. are also expected to participate, one of the people said.

The meeting follows a September 11 order by India’s top court to temporarily halt a move to begin bankruptcy proceedings against delinquent power producers, stalling efforts by the central bank to clean up soured debt at the nation’s banks. Asia’s third-largest economy is trying to clean up more than $210 billion in soured assets to boost lending and investment.