Reliance Communications Bonds Fall to Record on Missed Payment
- Interest payment of about $9.75 million was due Monday
- Mobile operator is in a debt standstill until December 2018
Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg
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Bonds sold by Reliance Communications Ltd., the Indian mobile phone operator controlled by billionaire Anil Ambani, plunged to a record low after the company missed an interest payment.
That marked the firm’s first failure to pay a coupon on a note in the U.S. currency, as it battles for survival amid a shakeout in the world’s second-largest telecom market. With India’s larger mobile players vying for market share, intensifying price competition has driven down earnings at Reliance Communications and other smaller carriers. Amid a wave of industry consolidation, the company’s plan to merge with rival Aircel Ltd. collapsed.