The federal government on Thursday assured that there can be no default on bond dues of MTNL, and mentioned the state-owned telco’s operations can be transferred to BSNL at the same time as its asset monetisation efforts to repay liabilities are underway.
The Authorities of India stands behind the sovereign Assure bonds, Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia asserted.
Mahanagar Phone Nigam Ltd (MTNL’s) operations can be transferred to BSNL, and monetisation of property will happen to repay liabilities, he mentioned.
“Within the interim of monetisation of property and a few bonds coming due, the Sovereign Assure Bonds will stand good. Authorities of India stands behind these bonds and there can be no default and that’s what you may have seen,” Scindia mentioned.
The minister was talking on the sidelines of a curtain raiser for India Cellular Congress 2024 occasion scheduled to be held in October.
The federal government has stepped in to make a Rs 92 crore fee in the direction of quick bond dues of MTNL, and one other Rs 64 crore can also be anticipated to be paid in coming days in the direction of curiosity obligations which are slated to develop into due in August.
The serving to hand from the federal government is important because it averts a crisis-like scenario for the telecom company which has been teetering on the brink with regard to its debt obligations, significantly on this case government-guaranteed bonds. Final week, the debt-laden agency had expressed its incapability to make curiosity funds to sure bondholders as a consequence of paucity of funds.
The second semi-annual curiosity (7.59 per cent) on sure bonds is falling due on July 20, 2024.
“The second semi-annual curiosity with regard to 7.59 per cent MTNL’s bond sequence…Is due on July 20, 2024. As per the structured fee mechanism of Tripartite settlement (TPA) signed amongst MTNL, Division of Telecom and Beacon Trusteeship Ltd, MTNL has to fund the semi-annual curiosity into the Escrow account with sufficient quantity 10 days earlier than the due date,” MTNL had mentioned in a BSE submitting on July 11.
MTNL had knowledgeable that within the wake of provisions of TPA, and as a consequence of inadequate funds, it couldn’t fund the escrow account with an sufficient quantity.
MTNL, which presents telecom providers in Delhi and Mumbai, has seen a gentle erosion in its subscriber base over the previous years.
Its losses mounted to Rs 3,267.5 crore for FY24, from Rs 2,915.1 crore in FY23. The income from operations for the yr ended March 2024 fell to Rs 798.56 crore, down 14.6 per cent from a yr in the past.
