New Delhi: The NCLAT on Monday asked Reliance Communications (RCom) to not sell or transfer any movable or immovable assets till February 12. The appellate tribunal also said that third parties will not be allowed to encash any bank guarantees by the company for that period
The NCLAT was hearing a petition by Ericsson India, which is opposing insolvency proceedings against RCom. RCom year had promised to pay Rs 550 crore to the Swedish company, which is one of its operational creditors. The payment has not yet been made. The beleaguered telecom giant had opposed insolvency proceedings against it, but last week changed its stand.
Appearing for Ericsson, lawyer Dushyant Dave argued that this decision by RCom is not an innocuous one. “(RCom) has sold assets worth thousands of crores (tens of billions), but have not paid us. They have taken courts for a ride,” said Dave. The Swedish company, which had supplied fibre optic tower assets, had also filed a contempt petition in the Supreme Court over non-payment of the amount.
Shares nosedive 35%
Shares of RCom fell sharply on Monday and ended nearly 35 per cent lower after the company decided to opt for insolvency proceedings following its failure to sell assets for paying back its lenders. RCom shares plummeted 34.91 per cent to close at Rs 7.55 on BSE. Intra-day, it nosedived 48.27 per cent to Rs 6 — its record low.
At NSE, shares tumbled 34.91 per cent to close at Rs 7.55. The company’s market valuation plunged Rs 1,120.02 crore to Rs 2,087.98 crore on BSE. mOn the traded volume front, 425.09 lakh shares changed hands at BSE and over 37 crore shares on NSE.
Heavy selling was also seen in other group shares, with Reliance Power tumbling 35.10 per cent, Reliance Capital 19.80 per cent, Reliance Infrastructure 14.87 per cent and Reliance Naval and Engineering 14.72 per cent on BSE. The combined market valuation of five of these group firms tumbled Rs 5,830.72 crore on BSE.
