(ET)
Reliance Jio Infocomm may be pushed to raise prices in this financial year as it needs to spend about Rs 9,000 crore a year on its long-term capacity leasing deals with special purpose vehicles (SPVs) created to hold its demerged fibre and towers assets, coupled with the capital raising plans of rivals Vodafone IdeaNSE -0.58 % (VIL) and Bharti Airtel, said analysts.
“The likelihood of Jio raising prices is higher today than it was six to nine months ago, which has positive implications for incumbent peers, particularly, Vodafone Idea,” JP Morgan said in a note to clients seen by ET. The US brokerage said investors increasingly believe Vodafone Idea and Airtel’s capital raising plans, signalling their capacity to fight, may prompt Jio to rethink its pricing stance, especially on whether it can afford to keep expanding its balance sheet investments for the next two three years.
