Confident about expeditious completion of asset sale plan, says Reliance Communications

New Delhi: Debt-laden Reliance Communications (RCom) on Thursday exuded confidence that its asset monetisation programme will be completed “expeditiously”, much ahead of the RBI-prescribed deadline of 31 August. The comments follow the Supreme Court order earlier in the day that status quo be maintained on RCom’s sale of certain assets to Reliance Jio on pleas by a consortium of banks. The apex court refused to lift the stay ordered by Bombay High Court on RCom asset sale. It will hear pleas from the consortium of banks and RCom against the stay of assets sale by HC on 5 April. “As legally advised, RCom remains confident that its asset monetisation programme will be completed expeditiously to protect the interests of its secured lenders, much in advance of the time limit of 31 August, 2018 prescribed by the RBI for resolution of such cases,” RCom said in a statement. [caption id=“attachment_816745” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Confident about expeditious completion of asset sale plan, says Reliance Communications. Reuters image.[/caption] RCom said its lenders, led by SBI, had filed Special Leave Petitions (SLPs) in the Supreme Court against the stay granted by two lower Courts on sale of certain assets by the company. In December, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio had announced a mega deal to acquire mobile business assets including spectrum, mobile towers and optical fibre network of RCom, owned by his younger brother Anil Ambani. RCom, reeling under about Rs 45,000 crore debt, hoped to use the entire proceeds to pare its debt. The asset sale process, however, hit a hurdle when an arbitration court, in an interim order, barred the sale plans without its permission, on an appeal by telecom gear maker Ericsson India. (Disclosure - Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd)