Bankruptcy won't affect us: Finmin

NEW DELHI: The markets might have tanked in the wake of Lehman Brothers��� collapse and Merrill Lynch���s sale to Bank of America, but the Indian government is putting up a brave face.

The government believes the bankruptcy filing by America���s fourth-largest investment bank Lehman Brothers will not impact India directly.

���We have been more or less insulated from the subprime crisis. Prima facie, the crisis in the US may not have any impact on India. We, however, have to examine the developments in detail,��� said a finance ministry official.

Bankruptcy experts, however, pointed out that many Western investment companies hit by the global credit crunch may be forced to sell off their assets in India at throwaway prices as it is next to impossible under Indian laws to co-ordinate between bankruptcy and liquidation authorities in India and the US, in order to find a single buyer for the insolvent company���s world-wide assets.