Vodafone Idea Should Get More Time To Clear Its Dues

Vodafone Idea should get more time to clear its dues and spectrum charges- Banks told the government.

State Bank of India (SBI)-led banks have asked the government to give more time to debt-ridden Vodafone Idea (VODA.NS) to clear its tax dues and spectrum charges.

Two bankers and a government official associated with this matter have given this information. An Indian court last year granted a verdict to settle long-standing between government and VIL.

The joint venture between the Indian arm of Britain’s Vodafone Group and Aditya Birla Group’s Idea Cellular was ordered to pay dues of over $8 billion to the government.

Vodafone holds around 44 percent stake in the company and Aditya Birla has around 27 percent.

In June, Vodafone Idea’s then non-executive chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said that without a government, the Indian mobile company’s “financial situation would worsen.

Vodafone Idea’s gross debt as of June 30 was Rs 1.9 trillion, of which Rs 1.06 trillion”. deferred spectrum payment obligations of Rs.621.8 billion and adjusted gross revenue liability of Rs.621.8 billion.

The mobile operator also reported that it owed 234 billion Indian rupees ($3.18 billion) to financial institutions.

Senior officials of SBI (SBI.NS) and representatives of the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) met officials of the Finance and Telecom Departments this month and proposed immediate relief on repayment of spectrum dues, two bankers, and a government official said.

SBI, IBA, and the Department of Finance and Telecom declined to comment. A banker said the company is facing repayments of Rs 5-10 billion of non-convertible debentures around January.

Vodafone Idea declined to comment on the issue. Vodafone Group did not immediately respond to an email request. A spokesperson for the Aditya Birla Group declined to comment either way.

India, Singapore announce to the addition of UPI and PayNow’s fast payment system, which may start by July 2022.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Tuesday announced a project to link their respective fast payment systems.

The linked interface may be operational by July 2022. India uses the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), while Singapore uses the PayNow system.

RBI said that the UPI-PayNow linkage will enable users of each system to transfer funds at a low cost to other payment systems instantly.