Vodafone Idea is seeking a loan of up to INR 16,000 crore from SBI: Report

The Economic Times reported on December 1 that Vodafone Idea (Vi) had asked the State Bank of India for a loan of INR 15,000-16,000 crore.

Vodafone Idea is seeking a loan of up to INR 16,000 crore from SBI: Report

The Economic Times reported on December 1 that Vodafone Idea (Vi) had asked the State Bank of India for a loan of INR 15,000-16,000 crore. According to people familiar with the situation, the struggling telecom operator intends to utilize the cash to satisfy capital expenditure obligations, finance gear supply contracts for its planned 5G deployment, and clear vendor dues.

According to reports, the issue of acquiring cash through debt has been discussed for more than a month, as the country's largest lender has sought clarification on the government's prospective participation in Vi and the telco's commercial scale-up ambitions.

According to an executive familiar with Vi's loan discussions, SBI wants to know if Vi's owners, the Vodafone Group and the Aditya Birla Group, intend to inject further stock into the troubled carrier. The bank has also requested an update on any worldwide strategic investors who may be involved in the operator's upcoming external financing.

The telecom operator's losses increased to approximately INR 7,600 crore in the second quarter of fiscal 2023. During the quarter, the business stated it lost 60 lakh users. It currently has a client base of 23.44 crore, which is over half that of Reliance Jio, which acquired 77 lakh users in the same period.

Vi has been attempting to gather donations through various channels for quite some time. Delays in converting a portion of the government's statutory debt to equity have also significantly hampered fundraising.

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