Vodafone Idea extends gains for second day, soars 66% from Tuesday's low

Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel hit the high of Rs 550 in Thursday's early morning deals

Shares of Vodafone Idea rose up to 12 per cent to Rs 4.71 on the BSE on Thursday, thus extending its Wednesday’s 38 per cent rally amid reports that the government is unlikely to invoke the company's bank guarantees as of now. The telecom services company's stock has now soared 66 per cent from Tuesday’s intra-day low of Rs 2.83 on the BSE.

Meanwhile, Vodafone Idea chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla and Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal visited the North Block office of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday to seek relief for the deeply stressed telecom sector, Business Standard reported. CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL REPORT

According to the report, the two telcos have proposed a few options to the Union government for consideration. This includes creating a telecom fund to give soft loans to the service providers and extending the payment timeline. A relaxed AGR law was also suggested to bring some relief in the sector.

The Supreme Court on Monday had dismissed Vodafone Idea’s petition seeking relief from invocation of bank guarantee by Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in case it failed to pay its adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues in the stipulated time. According to the unified licence agreement, the licensor or DoT can invoke bank guarantees and convert the same into cash security if the service provider violates any term of the licence.

At 09:36 am, Vodafone Idea was trading 9 per cent higher at Rs 4.56 on the BSE, as compared to 0.05 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. The counter has seen huge trading volumes with a combined 281 million shares changing hands in the first 21 minutes of trade on the NSE and BSE combined. Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel was trading 0.54 per cent higher at Rs 546 after hitting the high of Rs 550 in early morning deals on the BSE.