Vodafone Idea (Vi) shares have come down to the pre-September 2021 relief measures level. In simple words, the shares have fallen down to the point where the current price is the same as the price of the shares before the revival package for the telecom industry was announced in Sept 2021. Post the relief measures, Vi's stock had shown a good recovery. However, on January 9, 2023, the stock of Vi hit a low of Rs 7.35. On Monday, Vi had opened at Rs 7.80 and at 1:57 PM, it was trading at 7.50. For the last year to this date, Vi's stock has delivered a negative 49.02% return.
The telco has not been able to sort out its funding woes. The government's stance to not go ahead with the equity conversion until the time promoters put money has hurt the telco big time. None of the lenders is excited about bailing out the telco from its situation right now. Vi's continuous losses have brought the telco into an impossible situation where it has a mountain of debt in the books, and the cash flow is just not there to get out of the situation.
Vodafone Idea Offering 5G in Delhi
Vodafone Idea's (Vi) customer care team has replied to a user on Twitter that Vi's 5G services are now available for customers in Delhi. The company hasn't made any official statements to the media about this yet. Vi's 5G plans have been on hold due to funding issues. The telco recently sought a Rs 7000 crore loan from the banks, but the banks aren't interested in loaning the telco any money until the promoters infuse more capital.
Everything related to Vodafone Idea's future is turning to its promoters, who have time and again shown restraint in infusing any further capital into the company. The subscribers are leaving Vodafone Idea's network fast, and in Q3 FY23, the subscriber loss could be even bigger compared to the previous quarter because Airtel and Jio announced 5G in several cities of the nation.
