Reliance Communications shares jump after new debt repayment plan

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Shares in embattled wireless carrier Reliance Communications Ltd rose more than 10 percent in early trade on Tuesday after the company presented a new debt repayment plan to its lenders.

The company, with $6.8 billion of net debt as of last March, said it will look to repay 170 billion rupees ($2.62 billion) of loans by selling assets such as mobile towers. It also pledged to repay another 100 billion rupees from sale or commercial development of its real estate assets.

Under a central bank debt restructuring plan, its lenders will also swap 70 billion rupees of the loans to take a 51 percent stake in the company commonly called as Rcom.

 

The stock was up 13 percent at 0352 GMT, compared with a 0.2 percent fall in the broader NSE Nifty.

The stock has tumbled this year, hitting a series of record lows on worries about whether it can pay back its debt.

($1 = 64.7900 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Rafael Nam)