Maxis to invest up to $5 billion in Indian mobile phone operations

Maxis Communications, Malaysia's top mobile phone company, plans to invest $4-5 billion by 2009-10 to expand its India operations, its chief executive said while announcing the Kolkata roll-out of its joint venture Aircel Cellular Ltd.

Maxis holds 74 per cent in Aircel, which already has operations in 9 telecom circles in India. Apollo Hospitals Enterprises Ltd holds the remaining 26-per cent stake in the mobile phone operator.

"Kolkata is the 10th circle and we have 13 more circles to cover to have a pan India presence. We hope to cover these in the next two and half years," Sandip Das, CEO, Maxis Communications, told a news conference in Kolkota.

Aircel holds licence and spectrum for service rollout in all the 23 telecom circles of the country.

Das said the financing would involve issue of both debt and equity.

"We have already pumped in two billion dollars so far," Das said at the launch of Kolkata service circle.

Aircel would add 14,000 additional cell sites in one year for service rollout, involving investment of $1.6 billion, its chief operating officer Gurdeep Singh said.

The company has 7,000 sites at present and of this one per cent is shared. The company has not yet decided on whether to invest the fund on its own or add the sites on sharing basis, Singh said.

Aircel has a total subscriber base of 10.8 million and holds an 18.2 per cent market share. The company reported revenues of $500 million in 2007.

Aircel has invested Rs500 crore in the Kolkata circle to set up 550 cell sites. The sites would be ramped up to 750 shortly, Singh said.

Singh said the the launch of Aircel's BlackBerry service was expected in the next two to three months