The Silicon Review ^Asia

In a bid to counter Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea plans to spend Rs 20,000 crore in networks over the next 15 months, The Economic Times reported.

Currently, Vodafone Idea is India’s largest telecom company.

“We have given capex of Rs 270 billion for the financial year 2019 and financial year 2020, combined together. Out of that, roughly Rs 70 billion has been spent in the first nine months. In the next 15 months we are looking at capex deployment of Rs 200 billion,” Vodafone Chief Financial Officer Akshaya Moondra told analysts in a teleconference.

According to the ET report, throughrightsissue, the firm is also planning to raise Rs 25,000 crore, in which the promoter shareholders – Vodafone Group and Aditya Birla Group – are planning to contribute up to Rs 11,000 crore and Rs 7, 250 crore respectively.

The capex guidance of Rs 27,000 croredoes not include capacity, Mr. Moondra told analysts. By reusing equipment from the synergy of operations between Vodafone and Idea, capacitywill be created, which is estimated to be valued at Rs 6,200 crore.

The newspaper when contacted Vodafone Idea, it confirmed investment details and said: “capacity creation on account of consolidation of the spectrum is over and above capacity creation with the above two categories of fresh capex and redeployed equipment”.