Who are they after?

Kingfisher Airlines is in big trouble. It has a debt of around $1 billion which would be Rs 55 billion at current exchange rates, it has only 7 planes and its employees are on strike forcing it to suspend flights. The owner, Vijay Mallya is a flamboyant figure who likes to flaunt his wealth. He owns a Formula One racing team, Force India, an IPL T20 cricket team and is reported to have a statue of a naked former actress by the side of his swimming pool. Now his creditors are after him to pay his debts. He is reported to have raised Rs 5.25 billion against his ancestral property in Bangalore, Kingfisher Towers-Residences. However, he is not alone in owing billions of rupees. State Bank of India alone has bad loans of Rs 203.24 billions out of  total outstanding loans of Rs 5.39 trillion. ET. 13 August. Top 10 companies account for 13% of loans. Adani has Rs 695 billion in loans, Essar Rs 938 billion, Realiance ADAG Rs 867 billion, Vedanta Rs 935 billion and Jaypee Rs 454 billion. According to Credit Suisse " all banks have high exposure to same select groups ". It would seem that Mallya's debt is small change compared to the huge debts racked up by other companies. Then why is everyone after him and why is the press baying for his blood? It maybe because of jealousy. Politicians and civil servants maybe richer than him but their money is black so they cannot lead an ostentatious life style like Mallya. Their enjoyment has to be in the dark, skulking behind closed doors like vampires of the night. Or it maybe that they are after a different Kingfisher, that is Kingfisher Beer. Mallya's wealth comes from United Breweries which has sales of $4 billion and a market capitalisation of $12 billion. It is the largest beer producer in India with 48% of market share and holds 40% of brewing market in India with 79 distilleries worldwide. Kingfisher Beer is sold in 52 countries and has a good reputation for quality. Foreign companies would kill to get their hands on this business which is set to grow and some have made offers. We have already seen a succession of scams since the Congress took power in 2004 so it would be entirely feasible that some people are being paid to act as Trojan horses and hound Mallya until he sells his brewery business. There is also great pressure to open up the insurance sector. Foreign funds and even foreign governments have advised the Indian government to open up insurance. Already foreign companies like Aviva and Prudential are in India but they are not after small fry. They want to get their hands on Life Insurance Corporation of India which is an entirely government owned company. LIC has Rs 13.25 trillion in assets, 350 million policies and contributed 7% to the GDP in 2006. To get health and financial details of hundreds of millions of middle class Indians would be a gold mine. So would the scoundrels sell out for a price? With this lot any betrayal is possible.