The final death knell for KFA

So all those investors who had bought into Kingfisher Airlines, even when it was certain that it was heading for a nose-dive crash, would be ruing their judgement. As such the stock price was quoted around Re.1 and now beginning 1st Dec, it has been suspended from trading. And the curse of being a Vijay Mallya stock was extended to two other stocks –UB Engineering and Varun Industries; both were also suspended for violation of listing norms. And trading in these stocks can start only if the company starts reporting quarterly earnings and pays a fine to the exchanges. Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) has not reported its quarterly earnings since the December quarter of FY14.

Suspension of trading in Kingfisher shares has happened two years after the airline was grounded and promoter holding of 8.54% has also been frozen. And what does the retail investor, stuck with these shares now do? Well, he still has a chance to recover to some of his money back, if he sells the shares after 15th of Dec on a trade-for-trade basis, where transactions can be done only for delivery and usual rolling settlement system is not applicable. This trade-for-trade facility will be allowed on the first trading day of every week for six months and for KFA, that will be 16th Dec.

Any news about KFA brings in a lot of heartburn. Not because of the loss incurred on the shares but more on account of the way in which people like Vijay Mallya cock a snook at the entire system. He epitomizes all that which is wrong in India today, a smug thief who leads a hi-flying lifestyle, caling himself the ‘king of good times’ leaving so much devastation behind. His life style would not have altered but what about the scores of KFA employees who did not get paychecks for a few months and the banks, who had to write off losses. Ultimately, it is our, the tax payers money, which was used to fund all his extravagances. It was the ignorance of the media to compare him with Richard Branson, who projects an image of flamboyance but is very grounded and knows how to run a successful airlines and takes care of his employees. The stock gets suspended and Mallya continues to lead his life. That’s the story of the rich and famous.