NEW DELHI: Telecom service provider Vodafone Idea (Vi) on Thursday said it has appointed Kumar Manglam Birla, chief of Aditya Birla Group, as a non-executive director on its board. Birla has made his comeback to the board after two years of his exit.
He had stepped down as the non-executive director in August 2021, when Vi was not doing well. “The board of directors of the company has, at its meeting held today, appointed Kumar Mangalam Birla, as an additional director (non-executive and non-independent) with effect from 20 April 2023,” said the company in an exchange filing on Thursday.
The move comes at a time when the company is struggling to raise funds and losing subscribers rapidly to its competitors. The telco is desperately looking to raise funds from the market so that it can invest to improve its infrastructure. Recently, the company announced that Krishna Kumar Maheshwari has resigned as a non-executive director, with effect from April 19, due to “personal reasons”. He was a former managing director of UltraTech Cement and a representative of the Aditya Birla Group on Vi board.
The conglomerate has 18% stake in the loss-making company. Vi has Rs 9,600 crore debt repayment due in September 2023. Therefore, it is in talks with key lenders, including SBI, PNB and HDFC Bank for the refinancing plan with easier loan repayment terms.