Vodafone Idea is confident it can reach a fundraising deal with potential investors hit by a government package that provides much-needed relief to the debt-ridden mobile carrier, its chief executive said on Wednesday. said.
Vodafone Idea, with net debt of Rs 1.91 lakh crore ($25.86 billion) and other government dues of Rs 1.68 lakh crore, had repeatedly expressed concerns about its ability to survive without federal help.
Vodafone Idea CEO Ravinder Takkar said in a video interview that investors were waiting to see if New Delhi would ensure that at least three players are present in the telecom sector and also wanted the money to be used by the government. To be done for business instead of paying dues. .
“With this package all those fears have been put aside to some extent,” Takkar said, without specifying the names of investors the company was negotiating with for fundraising or a timeline.
“With this tremendous change our business plans will have to be updated, which means our funding requirements will need to be updated as well.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government last week approved a relief package for the cash-strapped telecom sector, including a four-year moratorium on airwave fees due to the state.
The telecom sector ran into trouble with the entry of tycoon billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio in late 2016, sparking a price war that forced some rivals out of the market and turned profits into losses.
A Supreme Court ruling in late 2019 also added to the sector’s pain, with telecom companies owed nearly $13 billion.
The latest measures from the government are expected to ease that pain, boost telcos’ growth in the world’s second-largest wireless market, and give Vodafone Idea a new lease of life.
“There should be no doubt that … Vodafone Idea will exist, we will compete, we will survive, we will thrive,” Mr. Takkar said.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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