Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) today confirmed that it received approvals from shareholders to its proposals of raising authorised share capital to Rs 10,000 crore, which is over 12 times. At the same time, MTNL said that it would raise the borrowing limit by around 38% to Rs 25,000 crore. "To increase the authorised share capital of the company from Rs 800 crore to Rs 10,000 crore, a total of 99.9421% shareholders voted in favour of the resolution...the following resolution was passed as a special resolution," MTNL said in a regulatory filing.
MTNL Raises Borrowing Powers from Rs 18,000 Crore to Rs 25,000 Crore
The resolution to raise the borrowing powers of the board from Rs 18,000 crore to Rs 25,000 crore was passed as a special resolution. "A total of 99.9203% shareholders voted in favour of the resolution," it said, according to PTI. The decisions were taken at the company's Annual General Meeting held on October 12.
MTNL Requests Government for 4G Spectrum
MTNL has requested the government to grant it 4G spectrum in lieu of equity worth around Rs 6,500-7,000 crore and extend its mobile licence, which is expiring in 2019, till 2021.
MTNL Chairman and Managing Director PK Purwar had earlier said the company would need to invest Rs 1,300-1,500 crore beyond the cost of spectrum for services and capital expenditure and it plans to increase the borrowing limits of MTNL.
The union and the management of the firm requested the government to take back unutilised land and assets valued at around Rs 19,300 crore and pare its debt of around Rs 19,000 crore.
The shareholders of the firm also approved raising of Rs 5,500 crore as debt by issuing non-convertible debentures on private placement basis.
MTNL and BSNL to Launch 4G Services Very Soon
Both the state-run telecom operators MTNL and BSNL had approached the Department of Telecommunications recently for the allotment of 4G airwaves. It's expected that the DoT will put both the firms requests in front of Union Cabinet in November and once the companies get required 4G airwaves, it will be a matter of time we see them offering 4G services to the customers. BSNL is operating in 20 telecom circles, whereas MTNL has its operations in Delhi and Mumbai telecom circles.
