RCom plunges to record low after approaching bankruptcy court

Debt-laden Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom) plunged by more than half to its record low in early trade on Monday, after the company said it will seek a fast-track resolution through the bankruptcy court National Company Law Tribunal to resolve its indebtedness.

RCom, controlled by Anil Ambani, also said on Friday that its lenders had not received any proceeds from asset monetization plans, and that its overall debt resolution process had not made any progress.

A cut-throat competition in India’s telecoms industry since the entry of Reliance Jio, owned by Anil Ambani’s elder brother Mukesh Ambani, had forced RCom to shut down its wireless business. It owed banks $7 billion as of March 2017 when it last made public its debt level, and more to vendors.

The stock plunged as much as 54.3 percent to 5.3 rupees apiece on Monday in Mumbai trading. It has shed 19.4 percent so far this year as of Friday’s close.

More than 120 million shares of RCom changed hands in less than 45 minutes of trade compared to its 30-day average of 63 million shares.