Vodafone ex-chair Analjit vows he’ll never re-enter telecom
05 May 2014
Former non-executive chairman of Vodafone India Analjit Singh said on Sunday that he will never again invest in the telecom sector.
''No, I will not come back in telecom. I am done with telecom as an investor,'' Singh told PTI news agency on the sidelines of a book launch event in New Delhi.
Singh, founder and chairman of Max India, exited from Vodafone India in March by selling his entire stake to the parent company, Vodafone Plc.
He and his wife Neelu jointly held a 24.65-per cent stake in Vodafone India through Scorpio Beverages Pvt Ltd, and the return of the stake to Vodafone was reportedly for Rs1,241 crore.
Singh till his exit the face of the company in India, and held talks with the government in the Vodafone tax case, in which Vodafone Plc is supposed to owe the government some Rs20,000 crore in retrospective taxes.
Singh said the execution risk in India was much higher than in any other country, and touched upon the retrospective tax amendment by the government after Vodafone won a Supreme Court verdict in the case.
''Those are goofy things … the retrospective judgement, etc. But fortunately there aren't many examples of retrospective taxes. To the contrary, I can tell you if you look at the same company and same example; Hutchison sold, Vodafone bought, and a Rs11-billion transaction happened,'' Singh said.
He added that there are more examples of people who have succeeded than those who have failed.
"Those who have executed well and have found markets and understood India like Unilever, McDonalds are successful. Today you can sell. I can sell my company to a foreigner. A deal can be done. The market will transact them. Understanding 'in India' is very critical," Singh said.
He said that 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment in the telecom sector is a very good step taken by government.
"India can now say to the rest of the world that we have a sector where 100 per cent FDI is allowed. That's good for India. I am one joker in this game. I can take my money and do 10 different things," Singh said.