Vodafone Idea's lenders have requested the telecom regulator not to invoke bank guarantees against its pending statutory dues, The Economic Times reported.
Lenders met officials from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) over the weekend and said invoking bank guarantees will lead to defaults by Vodafone Idea, the report stated.
Vodafone Idea owes Rs 53,000 crore to DoT under dues related to adjusted gross revenue (AGR), of which it has paid Rs 2,500 crore. Telecom companies have until March 17 to clear a combined Rs 1.47 lakh crore.
Moneycontrol could not independently verify the story.
“Lenders have informed the government that the situation is precarious as the sector is already reeling under asset quality issues,” the article quotes an official as saying.
Invoking bank guarantees will put pressure Vodafone Idea’s books in terms of additional provisioning, the official said.
Vodafone Idea said if the bank guarantees are invoked, or relief in AGR dues is not provided, then it will be forced to shut down.
“Bankers have requested the government to come up with a viable solution saying a three-telco model should be encouraged,” the official said.
In the event of a default on bank loan repayments by Vodafone Idea, State Bank of India (SBI) will be the most affected lender, the report said. SBI has an exposure of Rs 11,200 crore to Vodafone Idea, IndusInd Bank’s Rs 5,000 crore and ICICI Bank Rs 1,700 crore.
