Telenor settles all Uninor loans amounting to Rs9,809 crore

Telecom operator Uninor, yesterday, said its majority shareholder Telenor had settled all of the company's loans amounting to Rs9,809 crore following lenders turning down its loan extension requests.

Norwegian firm Telenor has a 67.25-per cent stake in Uninor, with the balance held by Indian realty company Unitech along with its subsidiaries.

Telenor, in a standoff with joint venture partner Unitech, blames the real estate company for its woes.

Uninor, in a statement, said that ''one of its shareholders has repeatedly refused to fund the company through its own funds and has also actively worked to stop the majority shareholder from doing so.''

The company has also applied for permission for a rights issue to infuse funds but it had not been approved yet by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board.

The company added, ''in the absence of a rights offer, Uninor has relied on short-term loans from Indian and international banks that were fully guaranteed by the Telenor Group.''