May be prudent for Vi to clear bank dues over operational payments

“In terms of CapEx, till the time the funding is in place, any significant CapEx increase is not possible. We are currently in discussions with the banks. Our priorities are operational payments, lender payments, and then CapEx investments. There’s a schedule of repayment of loans which we continue to pay on the scheduled date. We are trying to close the funding quickly, so that some of the backlog of vendor payments can be addressed,” Akshaya Moondra, CEO, Vodafone Idea Limited had said in the Q2FY23 earnings call recently.

However, if bank dues are not cleared in time, the telco runs the risk of being hauled to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). It may be prudent for Vi to clear bank dues over operational payments.

The dues as reported in Q2FY23 are Rs 15080 crore toward banks and Rs 15030 crore as trade payables, total debt being Rs 2.2 lakh crore.

CT Bureau