Haldia Petrochemicals board orders probe into causes of state

The board of the troubled Haldia Petrochemicals Limited (HPL) has ordered a probe into the causes of the present state of dismal affairs of the company.

Talking to reporters after the company's board meeting in Kolkata on Tuesday, chairman Partha Chatterjee said the statutory auditor has been asked to investigate and submit a report in a month.

The auditor would also look into the issues on naptha imports and related alleged irregularities, said Mr Chatterjee, who is also the state's Industry Minister.

Stating that the company's financial strength was weakening each day, he said another board meeting has been called on December 24.

"We see a ray of hope in that meeting," he said.

The West Bengal government holds a 40 per cent stake in HPL through WBIDC.

After suffering a string of losses, the networth of Haldia Petrochemicals (HPL) has eroded by 50 per cent.

On December 10, the Supreme Court had allowed The Chatterjee Group (TCG) to go ahead in the International Court of Arbitration in France to settle its dispute over sale of 155 million shares of Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL).

TCG, a key promoter of HPL, had challenged a Calcutta High Court order barring it from going for arbitration in International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Paris and negating the decision of the Company Law Board (CLB) to allot 155 million shares to the promoter's Indian arm.

Earlier on November 1, the apex court had stayed a high court order allowing West Bengal government to go ahead with the sale of 155 million shares of HPL to Indian Oil Company (IOC) which had emerged as the sole bidder.