Reliance Group paid Rs 35,000 cr to lenders in 14 months: Anil Ambani

He blamed regulatory bodies and courts for delaying verdicts which had held up Rs 30,000 cr in payments to the group

Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani on Tuesday said his group has paid Rs 35,000 crore in the 14 months from April 1, 2018 till May 31, this year to lenders. These payments comprise principal repayments of Rs 24,800 crore and interest payments of Rs 10,600 crore. The group raised funds by selling assets, he said.

Ambani said this amount included debt servicing payments by Reliance Capital, Reliance Power and Reliance Infrastructure, and their respective affiliates. "These payments have been made in the face of insurmountable odds and the most challenging financial environment witnessed in the country in decades,” Ambani said in a conference call.

He regretted the continuing total apathy and lack of any support whatsoever from the financial system, which he said will ultimately hurt the interests of lenders themselves as well as all other stakeholders. Ambani said the group was fully committed to meeting all future debt servicing obligations in a timely manner, through further asset monetisation plans that are already at various stages of implementation.

Ambani said in the last 14 months lenders from all categories - whether banks, mutual funds, insurance companies, provident funds or NBFCs - have not provided any net additional liquidity or debt to any entity of the Reliance Group. “To compound matters, the regulatory bodies and courts have not passed any final adjudication orders on claims aggregating to over Rs 30,000 crore that are due for more than 5 - 10 years to various Group companies, especially Reliance Infrastructure Ltd and Reliance Power Ltd, and their affiliates,” he said. The final decisions have only been inordinately and repeatedly delayed for one reason or the other, Ambani added.

Reliance group shares recovered during the noon trades after falling in the morning.