For Vodafone Idea vendors, Rs 4,000 cr dues are at stake

Kolkata: Vodafone Idea’s network vendors could face challenges in recovering nearly Rs 4,000 crore ($550 million) in dues if the loss-making telco fails to survive the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) shock and is forced to shut, analysts and industry executives said.

They added that such a scenario could even drive some top gear makers to scale down or shut India operations as there wouldn’t be room for five global vendors if the sector consolidates down to a private duopoly comprising Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio Infocomm.

Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE may find it harder to get their money back as it’s not backed by letters of credit (LCs).