KM Birla meets Vaishnaw to urge govt to expedite Vodafone Idea’s dues conversion into equity: Report

NEW DELHI: Kumar Mangalam Birla, the chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, has met telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in a bid to urge the government to expedite the conversion of Vodafone Idea’s license fee and spectrum dues to government equity, CNBC-TV18 reported Thursday, citing sources.

In September-end, the cash-strapped telecom operator had a net debt of around Rs 2.2 lakh crore with a gross cash balance of Rs 190 crore. The company’s dues to banks and other lenders stood at Rs 15,080 crore, while trade payables, reflecting dues to vendors such as tower firms and suppliers including network providers, was at Rs 15,030 crore.