Vodafone Idea raises Rs 5,400 crore from anchor investors
US-based GQG Partners has been allocated the highest number of shares, worth Rs 1,345 crore, while Fidelity Investments has invested about Rs 772 crore in Vodafone Idea's FPO.
Reliance Industries telecom division, Reliance Jio Infocomm on Monday wrote to telecom regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) seeking actions against rivals Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel for running an ‘unethical and anti-competitive mobile number portability (MNP) campaign’ amid the farmers protest in and around the national capital.
In its letter Reliance Jio said, “We submit that despite the above submissions, these companies continue to remain directly/indirectly involved in supporting and furthering the insinuations and false and frivolous rumours of Reliance being an undue beneficiary of the farm laws, for unethical pecuniary benefits in the form of induced porting of RJIL customers,”
The farmers who are protesting against the new farm bills have argued that the bill will benefit big industry groups and farmers boycotted saying they wouldn’t use Reliance Jio anymore.
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Reliance Jio in the letter said that Airtel and Vodafone Idea ‘”remain unabated in pursuing this vicious and divisive campaign through its employees, agents and retailers.’
“They are inciting the public by making preposterous claims that migrating Jio mobile numbers to their networks would be an act of support to farmers” protests,” the letter said.
Responding to the allegations made by Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel in a statement said, “Airtel has operated in the telecom industry for 25 years. During this period, we have competed hard in the market place and striven to serve our customers with excellence. At the same time, we take great pride in treating our competitors and partners with respect.”
The statement further added,“The current complaint therefore deserves to be dismissed and thrown out with the contempt that it deserves. It is in poor taste and is scurrilous, to say the least.”
Vodafone Idea denied the charges and said, “Vi believes in doing business with ethics. These are baseless allegations against us to malign our reputation. We strongly refute such irresponsible comments on us.”
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