Chinese banks have a lot to lose as Anil Ambani’s RCom assets may be worth a quarter of the loans

• RCom asset sale which is currently underway will fetch as less as ₹10,000 crore
• Banks and other creditors have claims worth ₹49,000 crore.
• RCom has 43,000 telecom towers across the country, along with spectrum which will expire in 2021.

Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications (RCom) will leave its creditors nearly empty handed, according to a report from The Economic Times citing sources. The asset sale, which is currently underway, could fetch as little as ₹10,000 crore including the proceeds from the sale of spectrum and towers.

Lenders have claimed ₹49,000 crore from RCom, of which nearly a third of the claims are from banks in China. The China Development Bank and Exim Bank have an exposure of ₹13,256 crore, combined while Standard Chartered Bank has a claim of ₹2,100 crore.

Whereas, amongst its top Indian bankers are State Bank of India with an exposure of ₹4,800 crore, Bank of Baroda with ₹2,500 crore; Syndicate Bank with ₹1,225 crore and Punjab National Bank with ₹1,127crore.

A valuable asset that RCom holds is the spectrum that it owns, which it will have to return to the government in 2021. The value of the spectrum will depend on how much time the successful bidder gets to use the airwaves, before the licence expires.

If the bankruptcy resolution process is delayed, the idle 4G spectrum across 14 circles may lose value further.

RCom has 43,000 telecom towers across the country, along with spectrum. Yet, it is not short of suitors. As per ET reports, Airtel is keen on buying its spectrum along with Reliance Jio which is owned by Anil Ambani’s brother Mukesh Ambani.

Mukesh had bid for and inked a deal to acquire Anil’s telecom assets, but a lawsuit by its lender Ericsson stalled the deal.


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