INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Rival Reliance Jio entered the market in 2016 and has relentlessly undercut Vodafone and Bharti Airtel.Vodafone Group Plc may have to slash
about 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) off the book value of its Indian venture that's reeling from spectrum payment demands and a ruthless
price war.The company could write down its 45 per cent stake in Vodafone Idea Ltd
to around 600 million euros ($662 million) in half-year results Tuesday, from 1.6 billion euros in May, according to analysts.The
accelerating crisis at a business with 300 million subscribers -- around two-thirds of Vodafone's global customer base -- is an extra
burden on the parent company, which is already being squeezed in other markets by low-cost competitors and network-spending
commitments.Vodafone Chief Executive Officer Nick Read is trying to keep shareholders onside following a dividend cut by focusing on Europe
and Africa, where he sees the best chance of defending profits.He's pledged not to divert more group funds to the Indian business, whose
shares have lost more than two-thirds of their value since May
Last month, the country's Supreme Court ruled that Vodafone Idea must pay $4 billion in past dues on airwave licenses.The share drop means
Vodafone may book a further 1 billion-euro Indian impairment, Barclays analyst Maurice Patrick wrote in a note to clients last week.The
parent company already took billions in writedowns on the business in the past three years
With Vodafone Idea reeling under $14 billion of net debt, New Street analysts led by James Ratzer wrote last month that "the increasingly
probable worst-case scenario is that the Indian operations go to zero."A spokesman for Vodafone declined to comment.Price WarRead knows the
problem well, having sat on the boards of Vodafone's Indian businesses before taking up the CEO job in October last year.Rival Reliance
Jio Infocomm Ltd., half-owned by India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, entered the market in 2016 and has relentlessly undercut Vodafone and
the other leading carrier, Bharti Airtel Ltd.With another Indian spectrum auction on the way and Vodafone Idea fighting for survival,
investors will be watching to see if Read changes his mind and moves to shore up the business.Vodafone Idea may try instead to tap into the
value of its local infrastructure assets to raise fresh funds, according to analysts.(Except for the headline, this story has not been
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