Message-ID: <8005633.1075855056744.JavaMail.evans@thyme> Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2001 01:50:52 -0700 (PDT) From: nikita.varma@enron.com To: nikita.varma@enron.com Subject: From The Enron India Newsdesk - October 24th Newsclips Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-From: Varma, Nikita X-To: Varma, Nikita X-cc: X-bcc: X-Folder: \PYBARBO (Non-Privileged)\Deleted Items X-Origin: Ybarbo-P X-FileName: PYBARBO (Non-Privileged).pst THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS, Wednesday, October 24, 2001=20 Anti-Enron lobby takes a knock as state excludes Aney from lawyers panel, S= anjay Jog ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ------------ THE ECONOMIC TIMES, Wednesday, October 24, 2001=09=09 BG offers ONGC equity in Brazil for Mukta-Panna, Soma Banerjee=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ------------ THE INDIAN EXPRESS, Wednesday, October 24, 2001 US regulators probing Enron deals, stock slides 20 pc ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ------------ THE ECONOMIC TIMES, Wednesday, October 24, 2001 AES approaches Indian govt for payment dues Similar story also appeared in the following publication: THE TIMES OF INDIA, Wednesday, October 24, 2001 AES approaches PM for payment of dues ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ----------- THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS, Wednesday, October 24, 2001=20 Anti-Enron lobby takes a knock as state excludes Aney from lawyers panel, S= anjay Jog The anti-Enron lobby has received a major setback following the Maharashtra= government's decision not to include senior advocate Shrihari Aney's name = in the panel of lawyers which would brief the state's solicitors DLA and th= e Queen's counsel Lord Alexander to challenge the London court's ex-parte o= rder restraining the government from filing any suit in the Indian court or= tribunal against the international arbitration proceedings initiated by th= e Dabhol Power Company (DPC). The state government's panel would comprise o= f its solicitors Rafiq Dada, Amit Harayani and Darious Khambata. The team w= ould leave for London in the first week of November. State government sourc= es told The Financial Express that Mr Dada, Mr Harayani and Mr Khambata wou= ld brief the government's solicitor DLA and its Queen's counsel Lord Alexan= der. The government was in the process of preparing its petition challengin= g the October 10 order of London High Court of Justice (Queen's Bench Divis= ion, Commercial Court). Sources said that the axe has fallen on Mr Aney fol= lowing his outburst against the government on September 18 for exclusion of= fraud in the proposed civil suit to be filed against DPC in the Mumbai hig= h court. Mr Aney's views in this regard has been publicly supported by the = anti Enron lobby which had alleged that certain forces in the government we= re "diluting" the Dabhol suit. Mr Aney, who had withdrawn his resignation a= s the government's counsel after his meeting with the state energy minister= Padmasinh Patil, had stressed the need for including fraud, issues related= to public interest, public policy and absence of legal sanction in the civ= il suit "in order to put forward a complete, fruitful and effective case ag= ainst the DPC." Analysts believe that the government did not want to face f= urther embarrassment and decided to drop Mr Aney's name from its panel visi= ting London. The DPC in its defence had quaoted Mr Aney's observations befo= re the London High Court of Justice (Queen's Bench Division, Commercial Cou= rt) before seeking an injunction. According to DPC, "there are some indicat= ions as to state government's intended position in the Indian press reports= . In particular, it appears that the state government are void and to reply= upon grounds of fraud, public policy, public interest and misrepresentatio= n." Quoting the newspaper report, the DPC said "the state government's lawy= er was reported as proposing a broad based suit which should pray that the = high court declare the three contracts with DPC as unforceable and void and= that this argument should be based on a number of factors. "DPC made mater= ial misrepresentation to MSEB about the plant's capabilities.=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ------------ THE ECONOMIC TIMES, Wednesday, October 24, 2001=09=09 BG offers ONGC equity in Brazil for Mukta-Panna, Soma Banerjee=20 BRITISH Gas (BG) has offered ONGC equity in its exploration acreage in Braz= il and a settlement in the cash call dispute in lieu for the operatorship o= f the Tapti Panna and Mukta oilfields which is being claimed by ONGC and Re= liance following the sale of Enron's equity to BG. The Britain-based gas ma= jor had set a deadline of October 31 to settle the issue over operatorship.= =20 In return for the package BG has asked ONGC towaive its right to seek the r= emoval of EOGIL, acquired by British Gas, asoperator following the change o= f control. The operatorship of the fields are a crucial issue to all the eq= uity holders as it is an extra source of revenue. Niger Shaw, the vice-pres= ident BG India had said that the deal to buy out Enron Oil and Gas India 30= per cent stake would fall through if BG was not given the operatorship of = the oilfields.=20 EOGIL was the operator of these fields and BG had bought the company with t= he understanding that the operatorship of the field would be transferred to= the new equity holder. However, both ONGC and Reliance the other equity ho= lders in the project have staked claim to the operatorship. The production = sharing committee has entailed that the issue of operatorship has to be dec= ided on a consensus by the equity holders of the project.=20 Shaw also confirmed that negotiations were on with both the equity holders = and BG would put down what it could offer in return. However, still the dis= cussions were still being held, he declined to give any details. BG, which = has sealed this deal for a whopping $388 million and is hoping to expand it= s capacity by investing $250 million, is trying to make its offer lucrative= so as to waive the opposition by ONGC and Reliance.=20 In a recent communication to ONGC the company has assured its commitment to= the adoption of a very different style of working, imposed in the past. Fu= rther, in order to ensure that the two companies have a good working relati= on, BG has made an offer to ONGC by which the latter could have a greater i= nvolvement in the operation of the fields.=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ------------ THE INDIAN EXPRESS, Wednesday, October 24, 2001 US regulators probing Enron deals, stock slides 20 pc Shares of Enron Corp slumped more than 20 per cent on Monday after it said = US regulators are looking into some of its transactions, the latest in a se= ries of blows for the company whose new chief executive officer resigned un= expectedly in August. A spokesman for North America's biggest buyer and sel= ler of natural gas and electricity declined to discuss a request for inform= ation by the US Securities Exchange Commission, but said it was cooperating= . The SEC also declined to provide details. Investor confidence in the comp= any has been rocked by recent reports in The Wall Street Journal about tran= sactions between Enron and two limited partnerships that were run until rec= ently by Enron's Chief Financial officer, Andrew Fastow. The Journal said t= he deal raised "conflict-of-interest" questions but Enron has rejected any = such suggestion, saying the deals were disclosed in SEC filings and approve= d by its board and internal and external auditors. A former Wall Street fav= ourite that has fallen from grace during the last 12 months, Enron reported= its first quarterly loss in more than four years last week after taking $1= .01 billion in charges and writedowns on ill-fated investments. Enron has s= uffered a series of high-profile setbacks, ranging from problems at its bro= adband telecommunications business, a payments dispute at an Indian power p= lant project and the departure of CEO Jeff Skilling after only six months i= n the job. Its stock closed down $5.40, or almost 21 per cent, at $ 20.65, = slicing $4.1 billion from its market capitalisation and making it the New Y= ork Stock Exchange's biggest percentage loser of the day. At one point the = shares fell below $20 for the first time in 46 months. Monday's slide follo= wed heavy losses for Enron's stock last week.=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ------------ THE ECONOMIC TIMES, Wednesday, October 24, 2001 AES approaches Indian govt for payment dues AFTER Enron, it is the turn of US-based AES to seek the Indian Prime Minist= er's help to settle its grievances with the Orissa government. In a letter = to Atal Bihari Vajpayee, AES president Dennis W Bakke said his company's de= termination to continue in India was being tested by the government of Oris= sa . The letter, a copy of which was made available to The Associated Press= on Tuesday, was dated October 1, and appeared to have been faxed to the of= fice of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The Virginia-based energy comp= any operates two power plants in Orissa, holds 49 per cent of the Orissa Po= wer Generation Corp and manages the main power distribution company in the = state. AES is the other major American power company besides Enron to have = made big investments in India after the government allowed foreign investme= nt in the power sector in the early 1990s. In his letter, Bakke drew Vajpay= ee's attention to the "expropriation, repeated contract violations, intimid= ation ... and direct interference with day-to-day management" by the state = government and its agencies.The letter also complained about government-run= agencies failing to pay Rs 210 crore ($44 million) in bills.=20 "If the situation faced by AES is not remedied urgently, it will undermine = the trust and confidence of foreign investors in India," Bakke wrote. "Whil= e AES still remains committed to India as a country it would very much like= to serve, our determination to continue is being tested." The Prime Office= said it was not ready to comment on the report. Officials of the Orissa go= vernment were not available to respond to Bakke's charges in view of a Hind= u festival. AES has already offered to withdraw from the distribution compa= ny -- known as the Central Electricity Supply Company of Orissa. However, i= t has said that the company will continue with its interests in electricity= generation. If AES decides to pull out completely, it will the third Ameri= can company to do so. Cogentrix quit a power project in southern India befo= re it was started, while Houston-based Enron is in the process of withdrawi= ng from the Dabhol Power Project, India's biggest-ever foreign investment p= roject, in Maharashtra. On September 14, Enron chairman Kenneth L Lay wrote= a letter to Vajpayee threatening legal action to pursue claims of up to $5= billion relating to the Dabhol Power dispute and questioned India's abilit= y to honor its contracts. Lay had also warned that India may find it hard t= o attract foreign investors in the future because of the payment dispute wi= th the Dabhol project, which stopped production and construction in May. (A= P)=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ------------