The latest move, even if it is symbolic, is the first rate hike after the one announced end of 2019.
Vodafone-Idea (Vi) has said the key hurdle it faces in raising fresh funding, despite interest from investors, is the 'pricing situation' which is also the reason why it has asked the Department of Telecommunica-tions (DoT) for another extension of the moratorium on payment of spectrum instalment by one more year. Responding to a question during an analysts' call on Friday after its quarterly results on the reason for the delay in fund-raising nine months after it was announced, CEO & MD Ravinder Takkar said: "We are in discussions with investors. There is continued interest in investing in the telecom sector in the country. "The biggest hurdle is that the overall industry is under stress because of the pricing situation." He said that once tariffs go up, it will create a significant amount of confidence.
If Modi's truly a reformer and a believer in minimum government, he would bury the Vodafone ghosts now. He would also then go to Bihar, campaigning on his politically controversial reforms. Both will need him to dip deep into his accumulated political capital and risk it, suggests Shekhar Gupta.
Vodafone Idea's cash flow analysis indicates that its situation may remain challenging even after any relief measures, and the telco needs "meaningful capital infusion" with a long gestation period to become competitive, a report by Credit Suisse said on Wednesday. The report expects Airtel to be "well placed" in either of the scenarios, of two-private-operator sector, or three private operators post an industry repair. The note by Credit Suisse on the Indian telecom sector said there has been increasing interest among investors to evaluate valuations of Bharti Airtel and Indus Towers under two situations, in the wake of recent developments.
Telecom operator Vodafone Idea on Tuesday reported narrowing of its consolidated losses to Rs 6,563.1 crore for the fourth quarter ended March compared to same period of the previous year, while its realisation per user or ARPU improved sharply on a sequential basis. The losses were at Rs 7,022.8 crore in the year-ago period, according to a company filing. Its revenue from operations rose 6.6 per cent year-on-year to Rs 10,239.5 crore in Q4 FY22.
The government will have to make substantial payments, as well as forego revenues in FY'23, if it wants to work on the survival of Vodafone Idea because it will have to extend the same incentives to the entire telecom sector. According to estimates, the industry has to spend around Rs 21,000-Rs 25,000 crore for spectrum which it bought on a deferred payment basis. Vodafone Idea has asked for a moratorium for another year (FY23). If granted, the government will have foregone the instalment payout for a third year in a row as it has already provided a moratorium for two years, giving telcos Rs 42,000 crore worth of relief.
Amid an existential crisis facing the firm over Rs 50,000 crore unpaid dues towards the government, billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla on Wednesday stepped down as the chairman of Vodafone Idea Ltd. Birla -- who had in June offered to give away his holding in the joint venture with Britain's Vodafone to the government -- will cease to be a director and non-executive chairman of the company at the end of business hours on Wednesday, VIL said in a filing to the stock exchanges. It did not give any reason for Birla's decision. He will be replaced by Himanshu Kapania (who was earlier managing director and CEO of Birla's Idea Cellular) as the new chairman of Vodafone Idea Ltd.
The government will acquire a stake in debt-ridden Vodafone Idea after the stock price of the company stabilises at Rs 10 or above, according to an official source. Vodafone Idea (VIL) board has offered a stake to the government at a par value of Rs 10 per share. "There is a SEBI norm that the acquisition should take place at par value. DoT will clear the acquisition after VIL shares stabilise at Rs 10 or above," an official source told PTI. VIL shares are trading below Rs 10 since April 19.
Vodafone Idea (Vi) is working on a fresh business plan that could alter its funding requirements. Addressing shareholder queries at the company's annual general meeting (AGM) on Wednesday, Vi chairman Himanshu Kapania said the exact amount will be worked out upon submission of a new business plan. "The management is working on a new business plan and will come to the board with the funding requirements," Kapania told shareholders in his first AGM as chairman.
Debt-ridden telecom operator Vodafone Idea on Thursday said its board has approved raising of up to Rs 14,500 crore, including Rs 4,500 crore from promoter entities. An amount of Rs 10,000 crore would be raised by way of sale of equity or through debt instruments such as ADR, GDR and FCCBs. In a regulatory filing, the company said the board has cleared issuance of up to 338.3 crore equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each at an issue price of Rs 13.30 per equity share for an aggregate consideration of up to Rs 4,500 crore.
A new board has been constituted for the merged entity 'Vodafone Idea Ltd' with 12 directors (including six independent directors) and Kumar Mangalam Birla as its Chairman. The board has appointed Balesh Sharma as the CEO, the companies said in a joint statement. The combination will have an all-India revenue market share of 32.2 per cent and take the numero uno slot in nine telecom circles, it said adding that both Vodafone and Idea brands will continue.
Cash-strapped telco Vodafone Idea's proposal for investment of up to Rs 15,000 crore through foreign direct investment (FDI) has been approved by the Union government, according to officials. A top-level group, comprising representatives from the ministries of home affairs, external affairs, finance and commerce and industry, took the decision. The nod, which is an enabling provision, would help the financially-stressed company raise funds to pay up some of its dues linked to adjusted gross revenue (AGR), reduce debts and use the money for operational expenses.
Vodafone's operating loss from India business jumped to 692 million euros in April-September from 133 million euros in the same period last year.
Issues related to the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) and bilateral investment treaty between India and the UK are expected to figure during the three-day visit of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to London from April 8-10, official sources said. The minister will attend a host of meetings, including the India-United Kingdom Economic and Financial Dialogue, in London.
Investors would track a host of macroeconomic data announcements scheduled this week, including inflation numbers, and also monitor global market trends, and trading activity of foreign institutional investors, analysts said. The ongoing quarterly earnings announcements and the rupee-dollar trend would also influence the markets.
The government has approved conversion of over Rs 16,133 crore interest dues of debt-ridden Vodafone Idea into equity, the company said in a regulatory filing on Friday. Equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each will be issued to the government at the same price. "Ministry of Communications...passed an order today ie 3 February, 2023...directing the Company to convert the NPV of the interest related to deferment of spectrum auction instalments and AGR Dues into equity shares to be issued to the Government of India," the filing said.
The number of telephone subscribers in India increased from 1,183.15 million at the end of May to 1,186.63 million at the end of June.
If the apex court decides on a 15-year repayment tenure, it would pose a grave challenge for the debt ridden VIL.
A Vodafone Group insider with more than 25 years in the telco across geographies, he's like the eyes and ears of the multinational in India.
Reliance Jio's major subscriber losses continued for the third straight month with 7.96 million users leaving the telecom operator in September, even as the state-owned BSNL stood out as the lone gainer, data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) showed on Thursday. Market leader Jio's subscriber loss has continued since July when the three private telecom operators - Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea (Vi) - brought in a broad-based hike in tariffs.
These customers will be unable to meet the lowest recharge requirements for Jio, meaning they will either exit the market or migrate to BSNL/MTNL.
The arbitration of any court is legally binding and the government) can approach the Singapore high court.
The Supreme Court had ruled in Vodafone's favour in 2012.
Vodafone Plc and its ex-shareholders have suffered due to the delay in an Initial Public Offer (IPO) of its Indian unit.
The Department of Telecom, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs and the Department of Economic Affairs had to give their comments on the proposal, sources said.
The company at present provides monthly mobile services at starting price of Rs 24 without data, and plans with data service starts from Rs 33 onward. It did not disclose the quantum of hike.
Vodafone on Thursday launched a new facility for its postpaid customers across the country enabling them to get a new number when they relocate to different state.
VIL, in which Vodafone holds 45.39 per cent stake, is staring at unpaid statutory dues of Rs 53,038 crore, including Rs 24,729 crore of spectrum dues and Rs 28,309 crore in licence fee, and has already warned of shutdown if no relief is given.
In the show-cause notice, Trai said it is of the view that the claim of VIL for providing priority 4G network with faster data speeds is not in compliance with the extant regulatory framework.
There is considerable speculation as to whether this award would have any bearing on another Vodafone-type case, namely, the ongoing tax-related arbitration proceedings with Cairn Energy.
A large team led by Kumar Mangalam Birla has taken charge of the integration process.
What worked for Airtel was that its data traffic growth was 13 per cent sequentially and its average data usage was even higher than Jio's at 11.9 gigabyte per month per user.
While Reliance Jio added 3.65 million users in May, both Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea continued to lose subscribers.
In a jolt to telecom firms, the Supreme Court has dismissed a batch of pleas filed by companies, including Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel, seeking correction of alleged errors in the Adjusted Gross Revenue. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices Sanjiv Khanna and B R Gavai also rejected the plea of telcos seeking to list the curative petitions for open court hearing.
A day after Vodafone Idea Ltd opted to convert interest on dues to government equity, its CEO on Wednesday said the government had made its position amply clear that it does not want to run the telco, and added that existing promoters are fully committed to managing and running the company's operations. Vodafone Idea (VIL) on Tuesday announced its decision to opt for converting about Rs 16,000 crore interest dues liability payable to the government into equity, which will amount to around 35.8 per cent stake in the company. If the plan goes through, the government will become the biggest shareholder in the company which is reeling under a debt burden of about Rs 1.95 lakh crore.
This merger, Bhupesh Bhandari believes, will be watched keenly by management gurus the world over.
Hutch's migration to the Vodafone brand became complete on Wednesday, but the pug that made the mobile company ever so popular with the masses will remain.
Jio is planning to win over 350 million 2G feature phone users by launching a smartphone at a fraction of the current cost.
Losing subscribers for the fourth straight month, Reliance Jio witnessed 3.76 million users leave the telecom operator in October, data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) showed on Monday. Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel reversed three months of decline, and added 1.92 million users, indicating it has overcome the impact of the broad-based tariff hikes imposed by private sector telcos in July.
To decide whether capital gains on surrender of call options are taxable
