Not heard from govt on stake sale: Vodafone Idea

New Delhi, August 13

Amid reports that the government may have sounded out some sovereign funds for offloading its stake in the telco, Vodafone Idea on Tuesday said it is up to the Centre to decide what it wishes to do about its holding, and that the company has had no communication from them on the matter.

During Vodafone Idea’s Q1 earnings call, CEO Akshaya Moondra further said the company has seen port-outs by its users to BSNL increased since tariff hikes were effected, and is closely watching the situation.

The VIL top boss, however, believes that quick decisions to port out taken purely on the basis of tariff action may not eventually sustain, given the 4G coverage offered by VIL.

To a question on media reports that the government may be exploring whether sovereign wealth funds would be keen on picking up its stake in the company, Moondra said: “We have had no communication with the government...to that extent, we have to say that government as a public shareholder...they are free to take decision with respect to their investment.”

At the same time, he said, whether government continues with its shareholding, or divests gradually is independent of their policy stance on conversion of dues to equity.

“Reforms package was announced with the objective of saying support needs to be provided and the government is very clearly focused on having three healthy private operators...” — PTI