Govt Is Not Interested In Taking Over Any Telecom Company

Govt is not interested in taking over any telecom company: Vodafone Idea CEO.

A top executive of debt-ridden Vodafone Idea (VIL) said the government has given telecom companies an option to pay the dues through equity.

The government has also stated that it is not interested in acquiring any company.

The company’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ravinder Takkar said in an interview that it is clear that the government wants the company to compete in the market and have at least three private service providers in the telecom sector.

“Till this announcement (telecom reforms) I have had several talks in different parts of the government.”

It is very clear in all my conversations that the government is not interested in being owned or acquired or operated by any other telecom company.

The government is already managing loss-making telcos BSNL and MTNL. They were given a relief package of about Rs 69,000 crore in October 2019.

Some experts argued that the government could acquire a substantial stake in VIL if it opted to pay the cumulative interest or annual installments through telecom equity.

Takkar said the government wants us to work in a competitive manner.

VIL’s total debt as of June 30, 2021, was Rs 1.91 lakh crore. This includes spectrum payment liability of Rs 1.06 lakh crore and adjusted gross revenue (AGR) liability of Rs 62,180 crore.

Apart from this, the company has to repay loans of Rs 23,400 crore to banks and financial institutions.

FPI Investment: Net investment of Rs 21,875 crore under FPI so far in September.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net buyers with investments of Rs 21,875 crore so far in the month of September.

According to data from depositories, FPIs invested Rs 13,536 crore in equity and Rs 8,339 crore in the debt segment from September 1 to 23, taking the total net investment to Rs 21,875 crore.

FPIs were net buyers of Rs 16,459 crore in August.