At an internal investors' call this week, it also said equity funding - including from promoters - is set to be tied up by March.
This is the first time the senior management has clearly said Vi's promoters - UK's Vodafone<\/a> Plc and the Aditya Birla<\/a> Group (ABG) - are likely to infuse equity, amid efforts to close the telco's long-pending fundraise.
\"Vi expects to complete the equity raise by March 2022, and promoters could also infuse equity,\" BNP Paribas said in a note, attributing the comments to the telco's chief financial officer, Akshaya Moondra.
ET has seen a copy of the note. BNP Paribas recently participated in an investor call with Moondra and Vi investor relations head Arpit Gupta.
4G network revamp
<\/strong>
Vi's management also sees a need to increase the telco's capex to $2 billion per annum, subject to its fundraise, BNP Paribas added.
The loss-making telco, with a cash balance of Rs 250 crore at September end, has been in talks with a slew of private equity players such as Apollo Global for equity and debt funding, as it looks to turn around operations.
ET previously reported that ABG chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla was considering a capital infusion into Vi, following the telecom<\/a> relief package announced by the government. Before the relief announcement in September, ABG and Vodafone had refused to put in any fresh equity.
![\"\"](\"\/\/www.iser-br.com\/Themes\/Release\/images\/responsive\/ettelecom-default.jpg\")
Vodafone and ABG now own 44.39% and 27.66%, respectively, in Vi. Vi and ABG did not respond to ET's queries as of press time. Vodafone declined to offer comment.
The sharp targeted jump in Vi's annual capex, from an estimated $500 million at present, is crucial for the telco to revamp its 4G operations across its 17 priority markets. Rivals Bharti Airtel<\/a> and Reliance Jio currently spend around $3 billion in annual capex each.
Vi shares slipped 2.28% on Wednesday to close at Rs 14.97 on the BSE.