Reliance Communications (RCom) has achieved a ‘virtual merger’ with the new entrant Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJio), while it is looking to reduce its debt by 75 per cent over the next one year. Further, the company is also making progress on the sale of its towers, which is likely to be announced in the “coming months”.

“What we have accomplished is a virtual merger between RJio and RCom,” Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani said replying to shareholders’ at the company’s AGM in Mumbai.

“Our spectrum is shared, our network is shared, our fibre is shared, our towers are shared, our voice is shared, and every effort to reach synergies, every effort to lower cost and to be capital light has been achieved,” Ambani added. He was referring to the spectrum sharing across 17 circles and trading in 10 circles and infrastructure sharing that enabled RCom to reduce debt.

This has resulted in RCom getting a “full 4G network” on a pan-India basis without any capex on its balance sheet, giving it the ability to offer world class 4G services. RCom now has more than 1 million paid 4G customers within 90 days of launch, who are using more than 1 GB data monthly.

Ambani also said that both he and his elder sibling Mukesh Ambani are “two brothers working relentlessly to fulfill the dream of Dhirubhai Ambani’, the founder of the Reliance Group.

Debt reduction India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani and younger brother Anil had a bitter feud that resulted in carving up of the Reliance Group between them in 2005. Mukesh won control of oil and gas, petrochemicals, refining and manufacturing, while Anil took over electricity, telecom and financial services.

RCom is also targeting to reduce debt of about ₹40,000 crore by 75 per cent over the next one year, even as it is close to announcing the sale of its tower portfolio in the coming months. It also has 2G, 3G and 4G spectrum, and don’t have to spent a lot in the upcoming auction.

RCom has deposited an earnest money of ₹230 crore with the Department of Telecommunications for the forth coming auction.

On RCom’s acquisition of Russian conglomerate Sistema JSFC’s Indian telecom business, which was announced in November 2015, Ambani said it will be completed soon on receipt of regulatory approvals. On the recent Aircel acquisition, he said RCom will become among the top operators in 12 circles in India post the merger, even as the merged firm gets capex and opex synergies of about ₹20,000 crore.

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