Mumbai, Feb 20 (IANS) Telecom major Vodafone Idea’s survival is under serious doubt as the company’s ratings have been downgraded by three agencies in the span of just two days.
After India Ratings, Brickwork Ratings, Crisil on Thursday downgraded Vodafone Idea’s rating on non-convertible debentures of Rs 3,500 crores.
Shares of Vodafone Idea (VIL), however, traded 4 per cent higher at Rs 4.36 a share during the afternoon trade.
The company had earlier said that “no price sensitive information is pending to be intimated”.
With the government mulling the possibility of invoking bank guarantees of the telcos to recover the statutory dues, Vodafone Idea chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla on Tuesday met Telecom Secretary Anshu Prakash on the AGR payment issue after paying Rs 2,500 crore on Monday.
The company had urged the court that the bank guarantee deposited with the government by Vodafone Idea should not be encashed. Birla has maintained that without relief on the AGR payout, it may not be possible to continue as a going concern.
Vodafone Idea has dues worth Rs 53,000 crore, which includes up to Rs 24,729 crore of spectrum dues and another Rs 28,309 crore in licence fee.
–IANS
ravi/in