MTNL defaults on Rs 8,585 Crore loan to seven PSU banks, fails to repay principal, interest

New Delhi [India] July 16 (ANI): State-run Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) has defaulted on the payments of both principal and interest to seven major public sector banks, totalling Rs 8,585 crore.
The telecom company shared the information in an exchange filing.
The seven lender banks are Union Bank of India, Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India, UCO Bank, Punjab and Sind Bank, and Indian Overseas Bank.
As per the telecom company's filing, the defaulted amounts of the Union Bank of India sum to Rs 3,733.22 crore, the Bank of India Rs 1,121.09 crore, the Punjab National Bank Rs 474.66 crore and the State Bank of India Rs 363.43 crore.
The telecom company added that it has defaulted on Rs 273.58 crore of dues to UCO Bank, Rs 184.82 crore to Punjab and Sind Bank and Rs 2,434.13 crore to Indian Overseas Bank, the filing shows.
Loss-making MTNL's total debt obligations reached Rs 34,484 crore as of June 30 of the current year.
The total debt obligation includes Rs 24,071 crore of sovereign guarantee (SG) bonds and a Loan for DoT for paying SG Bond Interest of Rs 1828 Crore, according to the filing.
As per the firm, loan payment failures have occurred from August 2024 until February 2025.
Recently, the Centre cleared the Non-Auction Route for assets valued below Rs 10 crore to monetise the assets of state-run entities, including BSNL and MTNL. Under the provision, telecom firms determine the pricing, while the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) determines the valuation. Assets valued above Rs 100 crore will be monitored by the National Land Monetisation Corporation (NLMC).
MTNL has been selling non-core assets like land, buildings, towers, and fibre to generate revenue. In September last year, the Public sector undertaking NBCC (India) Limited developed a 13.88-acre land parcel of MTNL.
MTNL has a total of forty-one land and building parcels in Delhi. Out of these land and building parcels, about 14 venues are vacant, as per a document provided by the company on its website. The other venues of the PSU have either permanent buildings or temporary buildings.
At the time of filing this report, the stocks of MTNL were trading at Rs 50.49 after touching the lowest levels of Rs 49.38.
In the last one year, the firm's stocks have given a negative return of -5.51 per cent to the investors. (ANI)