Vodafone Idea expects to conclude talks with lenders, investors by FY end: Takkar

Mumbai/Kolkata: Vodafone Idea (Vi) is talking to lenders and investors for debt relief, equity funding and for repayment of bonds maturing this fiscal year, and expects to conclude such discussions by the end of this March 2022, the cash-strapped telco’s managing director Ravinder Takkar said.

Speaking to analysts, Takkar downplayed the impact of JioPhone Next from Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel’s cashback offers on its subscriber base, saying the offer is essentially a device financing scheme and is no different from what Vi has been offering customers across a wider choice of smartphones. He also said Vi offers such device financing schemes even on refurbished handsets.