NMC Health expects to enter administration

One of the troubled groups major lenders, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, had filed an application in the UK's High Court requesting the company be placed into administration. NMC said it had made “strenuous efforts” to placate creditors.

New chairman Faisal Belhoul called on lenders to keep cash flowing to “maintain healthcare operations and … support the salaries of thousands of healthcare workers at this time” as the Covid-19 pandemic spread worldwide.

NMC, which has seen its shares suspended over an accounting and shareholding scandal, said this week any resolution with lenders was likely to involve changes to corporate governance at the company and the composition of the board itself.

ADCB’s exposure to NMC amounts to around $981m. The bank is also a lender to Travelex owner Finablr. Both firms were founded by Indian billionaire BR Shetty.

On Sunday, Emirates and Dubai Islamic Bank disclosed hundreds of millions of dollars of exposure to NMC and associate companies.

NMC’s debt at last count was $6.6bn, up from the $2.1bn reported at the end of last June. Shetty recently quit as chairman along with the chief financial officer.

US short seller Muddy Waters raised questions about the company’s true level of debt in December. NMC vigorously denied the allegations and hired a former FBI director to investigate the claims.

However, the stock was suspended in February after the investigation turned up inconsistencies in its finances and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority opened an investigation into the business.