Etisalat to resubmit proposal to raise stake in Indian JV

Emirates Telecom Corporation (Etisalat), the UAE's largest telecommunications company plans to resubmit its proposal to raise its stake in Indian joint venture Etisalat DB Telecom Pvt Ltd, after its initial application was turned down by Indian government on 'technical grounds'.

Etisalat DB Telecom's vice chairman Shahid Balwa said in an e-mail today that the company plans to submit its new proposal the country's Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) within four days, Bloomberg reported.

Increasing its stake in Etisalat DB Telecom Pvt. is part of a plan to expand in India, the world's second-largest wireless market, Balwa said.

Etisalat DB Telecom was formed in June 2010 when Etisalat and DB Group jointly acquired Swan Telecom from its owner Vinod Goenka and renamed the firm.

Etisalat DB Telecom has unified services access licence to operate telecom services in 15 circles in the country, covering national and international long distance telephony, value added services like voice mail, video conferencing, audiotex, videotext, e-mail, internet, broadband services, etc.

Currently Etisalat has 44.73-per cent stake in its Indian JV, which the telecom operator seeks to raise to 50 per cent plus one share to get a majority holding. DB Group owns 45-per cent in the company, while the balance is held by Genex Exim Ventures Pvt Ltd, and Delphi Investments Ltd.