VIL shares tank 6 pc after Birla's comment

Vodafone Idea (VIL) on Monday closed 6 per cent lower on the BSE as investors reacted to the company's Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla's statement that VIL will shut its business in the absence of a relief with regards to the adjusted gross revenue-based dues.

Earlier in the day, VIL fell as much as 12 per cent.

What further troubled the Vodafone Idea investors was Birla's comment that there will be no further capital infusion into the venture by either the Aditya Birla Group or Vodafone.

Bharti Airtel, which stands to gain the most if its competitor VIL goes belly up, was trading nearly 2 per cent higher at Rs 446.65 apiece.

Speaking at an event earlier, Birla had said that the issue of AGR is needed to be resolved urgently.

"We will shut shop if we don't get relief, it could be the end of the story for us. There is no company in the world that could get that kind of money  in three months," he said.

The Supreme Court in a recent verdict allowed the Centre to recover Rs 92,641 crore in total AGR from telcos, which impacts Airtel and Vodafone Idea the most.

In November, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) sent notices to the telcos, asking them to pay the AGR dues on a self-assessment basis within the next three months.