India’s number-two operator Reliance Communications (RCom) will consider selling its towers division next year to help reduce its debt, its chairman has said.
Anil Ambani made the statement to shareholders at the company’s AGM on Tuesday, according to Reuters, adding that the company will again attempt to list its undersea cable business in Singapore when market conditions improve.
RCom had net debt of US$6.4 billion as of June, and the company has been unsuccessful in raising funds through the sale of assets.
The plan to sell the telecoms towers has been in the pipeline for several years but the company said in May that it was waiting for clarification in the rules from India’s telecoms regulator before holding talks about a possible sale.
Meanwhile, the Singapore IPO was shelved in July due to a lack of investor interest.
RCom reported rising quarterly profit and revenue for the second quarter of 2012 but the results were weaker than expected as increased competition and financing costs took their toll.
According to Reuters, the company’s stock has fallen by 31 percent this year and around 40 percent since the previous AGM.
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