Mumbai, June 14: Reliance Communications (R-Com) today said its chairman Anil Ambani will not be taking any salary or commission in the current financial year and that its top management will also defer their personal pay by up to 21 days till the end of this year.

These measures come at a time the company confronts a host of challenges that range from a hyper competitive industry still reeling under the price war unleashed by Reliance Jio, downgrades from credit rating agencies and a huge pile of debt.

R-Com had reported a loss of Rs 948 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2017. It also suffered a loss of Rs 1,283 crore for the financial year, which was a first in its history.

R-Com is not the only company to see its finances coming under pressure. Its rival Idea Cellular also reported its first ever loss for the full year.

Ambani, however, is not alone.

Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of Idea Cellular, also saw a drastic cut in his pay cheque in 2016-17. Birla took only Rs 3.30 lakh as remuneration compared with Rs 13.15 crore in the preceding year.

"Anil D Ambani, chairman of Reliance ADAG, voluntarily decides to draw no salary or commission from R-Com in the current financial year," the telecom firm said in a statement.

The company added that this decision was part of the promoters' commitment to the strategic transformation programme planned for the company.

Delayed pay

The top R-Com management has also decided to defer their personal pay by up to 21 days. R-Com said these measures would remain in place till December 2017.

Debt management

At a press conference recently, Ambani had cited steps being taken by the company to bring down a debt of almost Rs 45,000 crore. These include the merger of its wireless business with Aircel (that will be renamed as Aircom), and the sale of its tower business to Toronto-based Brookfield Infrastructure Partners.

In the first transaction, R-Com expects to bring down its debt by Rs 14,000 crore, while in the Brookfield deal, it will receive Rs 11,000 crore. Thus, with both these transactions, the debt is expected to be reduced by Rs 25,000 crore.

According to R-Com, the Aircel and Brookfield deals are expected to close by September 30, subject to approvals.

R-Com has said it has other options as well to bring down its debt thereafter. This could include monetising its 50 per cent stake in Aircom in full or part and realising the 49 per cent economic upside in the tower business.

Apart from monetising its properties in Navi Mumbai and Delhi, it has the option of a strategic sale of the DTH business.