Alarmed by the risk that the telecom AGR (adjusted gross revenue) mess has created for a large bank exposure, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has requested the government to provide some relief to the telecom players on clearance of the dues.
“RBI has asked the government to consider a moratorium on the AGR,” ETNOW reported, quoting sources. It said the central bank has voiced its concerns to the Finance Ministry and the PMO.
“Lenders like YES Bank, IndusInd Bank, SBI, ICICI Bank and PNB appear to have high exposures to Vodafone Idea,” analysts Vishal Goyal and Ishank Kumar of UBS wrote in a note on Friday.
For the banking system, loans outstanding to the telecom sector stood at Rs 1.1 lakh crore, or 1.3 per cent of total loans, at the end of September.
The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a plea by telecom majors Bharti AirtelNSE 5.52 % and Vodafone Idea and others, seeking a review of certain directions of the apex court on the recovery of past dues amounting to Rs 1.47 lakh crore in dues towards adjusted gross revenue (AGR) and additional licence fees, spectrum usage charges (SUC), penalties and interest.
The total dues from 15 telecom companies, including Airtel and Vodafone Idea, as per the October order of the Supreme Court, have been pegged at Rs 1.47 lakh crore. The telcos need to clear the same by January 23, 2019.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has estimated another Rs 2.4 lakh crore in liability for non-telecom companies such as state-owned gas utility GAIL India and power transmission firm PowerGrid, which had taken licences to trade broadband on optic fiber running along their pipelines and transmission lines.
However, the January 23 deadline may not apply to non-telecom companies which too have been asked to pay substantial amounts in past dues, Kotak Institutional Equities said in a note
UBS Group said the ruling raises risks for lenders to the companies. Bharti Airtel has already raised capital of $3 billion, which should help it meet the burden.
Published On : 17-01-2020
Source : Economic Times
