- The Indian government has ordered Vodafone Group Plc's VOD Indian joint venture Vodafone Idea to convert all the interest it owes to the government into equity in the firm.
- Vodafone needs to convert capital worth $2 billion into equity, TechCrunch reports.
- Vodafone's JV with Indian billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla's conglomerate owed the Indian government about $2 billion for spectrum and other dues.
- In 2021, the Indian government approved a rescue package for the debt-ridden telecom firms and reserved rights to convert interest on them into equity later.
- In 2022, Vodafone Idea's board approved a plan to give the Indian government a 36% stake in the company. The Indian government was not keen to take charge of the firm's operations during that time, the report adds.
- India is the second-largest wireless market, ruled by Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio and Sunil Mittal's Bharti Airtel.
- Vodafone Idea spent the least among the top three in the government's auction of the 5G spectrum in 2022.
- Price Action: VOD shares traded lower by 4.61% at $11.08 on the last check Friday.
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