Etisalat earmarks $4bn for entry to India

Emirates Telecommunications Corporation, or etisalat, said it may spend as much as $4 billion (Dh14.68bn) on an acquisition or a licence to enter India, the world's second largest mobile phone market.

Mohammed Omran, Chairman of the Arab world's second biggest telecoms firm, said the time was ripe for a purchase.

"The market value for shares [in India] have gone down a little so it's a good time for us to consider an entry," he said. "We could spend in the range of $1bn to $3bn to $4bn; that depends on the opportunities and on how much of a per cent we buy." The price also depended on whether state-controlled etisalat bought a piece of an existing operator or began a new one, Omran said. Etisalat said earlier in April it was in talks with several Indian telecoms companies, including Spice Communications.

"Our aim is to buy into an operator that covers most of India, and Spice is one possibility," the etisalat chairman said, adding that no decision has yet been made.

India has 12 firms providing wireless and fixed-line telephone services in some or all of its 23 telecom service areas to more than 290 million users, and has issued 120 new licences this year.

More than eight million new mobile phone subscribers are signing up each month, reflecting a growing economy, cheap handsets and low call rates. India now has more than 250 million mobile users. (Reuters)

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