Tag: Bharti Airtel

Bharti Airtel gets shareholders’ nod to raise $2 billion in equity and $1 billion in debt

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Shareholders of Bharti Airtel have approved proposals to raise up to $2 billion in equity and another $1 billion in debt.

The proposal for issuance of securities for an amount up to $2 billion received 99.99 percent votes in favour of the special resolution at the company’s EGM held on January 3, a regulatory filing showed.

The second special resolution was for the issue of foreign currency convertible bonds and unsecured/secured redeemable non-convertible debentures along with or without warrants. This also received 99.99 percent votes in favour of the proposal.

Last month, Bharti Airtel had said it would seek shareholders’ approval at an EGM on January 3 for raising up to $2 billion through qualified institutional placement, public issue, preferential shares or private placement.

An additional up to $1 billion was sought to be raised through foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCB) or debentures, the company had said in its EGM notice.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Five key takeaways from Trai’s October 2019 data on mobile subscribers

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released its monthly data on subscribers and mobile number portability (MNP) for October 2019. The overall subscriber addition rose by 20.3 million, registering a 2 percent month-on-month growth, to 981 million. However, the year-on-year growth is down 4 percent.

Here are some key takeaways from the Trai’s October 2019 data:

• Reliance Jio active subscribers rose by 14.4 million to 304 million in October 19. The rise is on account of Jiophone offer, which drove net additions to 9.1 million (net of 5.2 million in rural), and rise in active subscribers as percentage of total subs to 83.5 percent (from 81.6 percent in September 19), according to a research report by brokerage firm ICICI Securities. As much as 48 percent of Jio’s added subscribers came from Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh (West).
• Bharti Airtel subscribers rose by 6.8 million to 310 million largely on account of active subscriber additions in Jammu and Kashmir. An additional factor could be Reliance Jio charging for off-net outgoing calls from October 10, the ICICI Securities report added.
• Vodafone Idea’s subscriber losses decelerated to 0.7 million against an average decline of 11 million in the last six months. The telco’s total active subscribers base stood at 302 millioin in October 19. Since its formation via the merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular in September 18, Vodafone Idea has lost 106 million active subscriber.
• On a month-on-month basis, mobile number porting dipped by 24 percent to 4.1 million in October 19 compared to 5.4 million in the preceding month.
• In broadband space, total wireless broadband subscriber base grew by 18.7 million in October 19 and stood at 644 million. Reliance Jio reported the highest growth with its subscriber base expanding by 9.1 million. Bharti and Vodafone Idea added 5 million and 3.6 million subscribers, respectively.

Disclosure: Network18, the parent company of CNBCTV18.com, is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary. 

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Airtel hikes minimum recharge for pre-paid customers to Rs 45

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Bharti Airtel increased its mandatory minimum recharge for pre-paid customers to Rs 45 from Rs 23.

The new minimum recharge plan came into effect from Sunday.

In a public notice issued on Sunday, the company said, “..it will be mandatory to recharge with a voucher of Rs 45 or above, every 28 days to avail services.”

The announcement pertained to prepaid subscribers of Bharti Airtel and Bharti Hexacom in all service areas, it added.

“In case of non recharge with a voucher of Rs 45 or above at the end of tariff validity period, Airtel reserves the right to provide the plan benefits in a curtailed manner at its own discretion during the grace period of up to 15 days. In case of non recharge with voucher of Rs 45 of above, all services will be suspended post the grace period,” the company said.

Earlier, the telecom operator had came out with revised tariff plans for its mobile customers, which came into effect from December 3.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Internet shutdowns amidst NRC-CAA protests costing mobile operators around Rs 2.45 crore in revenue every hour

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Indian mobile operators are losing around Rs 2.45 crore ($350,000) in revenue every hour they are forced to suspend internet services on government orders to control protests against a new citizenship law, a top lobby group said.

Countrywide protests have raged for three weeks after parliament passed legislation which gives minorities from neighbouring Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh a path to citizenship but excludes Muslims.

That, coupled with a plan for a National Register of Citizens, is seen by critics as anti-Muslim moves by the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

To quell protests, the government has deployed thousands of police as well intermittently ordered mobile data shutdowns at a time people have used social media such as Instagram and TikTok to wage a parallel battle online. Such internet suspensions have been criticised by internet freedom activists.

On Friday, mobile internet was ordered shut in at least 18 districts in northern Uttar Pradesh state, a telecoms industry source told Reuters. A Reuters witness received a text message from an internet service provider announcing that home broadband services on the outskirts of capital New Delhi will be unavailable for 24 hours, till the morning of December 28.

Indians consume an average of 9.8 gigabyte of data per month on their smartphones, the highest in the world, according to Swedish telecoms gearmaker Ericsson. The country is the biggest market by users for social media firm Facebook and its messenger WhatsApp.

Internet shutdowns should not be the first course of action, said the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which counts mobile carriers Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Reliance Industries’ Jio Infocomm as its members.

“We’ve highlighted the cost of these shutdowns,” COAI director general Rajan Mathews told Reuters. “According to our computation at the end of 2019, with the increase in online activities, we believe the cost (of internet shutdowns) is close to 24.5 million rupees for an hour of internet shutdown.”

The revenue losses will pile on to the woes of India’s telecoms sector, bruised by a price war and saddled with a combined $13 billion in overdue payments following a Supreme Court ruling in October. Bharti, Vodafone Idea and Reliance Jio did not respond to emails seeking comment.

The ban follows an unprecedented shutdown of internet and text messaging services in parts of Delhi last week, widening a communications clampdown in restive areas stretching from disputed Kashmir to the northeast.

Internet services in Kashmir were suspended for over 140 days since New Delhi relegated its status to a federal administered territory from a state, making it the longest such shutdown in a democracy, according to digital rights group Access Now.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Opening Bell: Sensex opens flat, Nifty50 around 12,200; IGL marginally up after Delhi’s EV drive

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Indian equity benchmark indices opened flat on Thursday after heavyweights Reliance Industries, Maruti Suzuki, HDFC and Infosys traded lower.

At 9:15 am, the Sensex opened 1.31 points lower at 41,459.95 and the Nifty50 index began the day 6.75 points lower at 12,205.25.

VIX (Volatility Index) surged 5 percent intraday to 12.3475. At 9:46 am, the index was trading 1.56 percent higher at 11.80. VIX is an indicator of the market mood in the short term and shares an inverse relationship with the market.

M&M, UPL, Tata Steel, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, and Hindustan Unilever were the Nifty50 top gainers, while Indian Oil Corporation, Coal India, IndusInd Bank, ONGC, and Zee Entertainment topped the laggards.

Shares of Indraprastha Gas Limited traded nearly 1 percent higher after Delhi rolled out its electric vehicle policy, with a target of deploying 5 lakh EVs by 2024.

Bharti Airtel faced some selling pressure after the company extended the deadline for merger with Indus Towers by two months to February 24.

In Asian markets, only Nikkei and Topix index opened on Thursday after Christmas break. Japanese shares rose after eight sessions of intra-day weakness in trades, marking the final settlements for 2019 and driven by expectations of a China-US trade deal early in the new year.

Catch all the latest updates from the stock market here.

Disclaimer: CNBCTV18.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow