Etisalat

ABU DHABI - 30 April 2008 - Etisalat may spend $4b in India venture. Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat) said it could spend as much as $4 billion 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) has gone down a little so it’s a good time for us to consider entry,” he told Reuters in Abu Dhabi.

“We could spend in the range of $1 billion to $3 to $4 billion; that depends on the opportunities and on how much of a per cent we buy,” Omran said.

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,” he said yesterday, 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 over 290 million users, and has issued 120 new licences this year.

More than 8 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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