Anil Ambani owned Reliance Communications has been red flagged by over 10 local banks over non-payment of loan instalments. This led to a downfall in RCom shares early in the trade. At the time of writing this post, RCom shares were trading 9.69% below the last traded price.
Banks in India tag an entity SMA1 (Special Mention Account), if they fail to repay loans for 30 days after the due date. After 60 days, this becomes SMA2 level and after 90 days of the due date, banks classify the loan as NPA (Non-performing asset). According to a source from the bank, RCom has been categorised as SMA1 or SMA2 by at least 10 local banks.
Responding to one of the media houses, one of the spokesperson of Reliance Communications stated that the issue of non payment of loans has emerged because of the merger of Aircel and RCom. The accounts are still not finalised and the same has been conveyed to the lenders. He also added that the company will be making all the due payments on or before September 30, 2017. The total amount which RCom will be paying is in the range of ₹25,000 crores, which according to him, will cover all the pending payments as well as substantial advance payment of the loans. Also, that the company is in talks with the banks to get approval for the same.