Russia's Sistema eyes pan-Indian telecom operation
18 Dec 2007
Mumbai: Russia's Sistema plans to create a pan-Indian telecom network along with its local partner Shyam Telelink, and a possible expansion into Africa.
Sistema, which bought a 10 per cent stake in Shyam Telelink in September, agreed to buy a further 41 per cent in October. It also has a call option for another 23 per cent.
"We want to build a pan-Indian operator that would be ranked among the market's leaders," reports quoting Sistema president Alexander Goncharuk said.
He said the company is determined and has the resources to carry on business with a local partner.
Sistema plans to raise its stake to 51 per cent, possibly by the end of the year, Goncharuk said. This would involve total investments of about $58.1 million. Sistema has already invested $11.4 million for the 10 per cent stake in Shyam Telelink.
Shyam Telelink currently provides CDMA cellular services in Rajasthan and has a GSM licence in Rajasthan. It also has placed bids for licences to operate in 21 of the 28 telecom circles in India.