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TELENOR

Norway presses India on cancelled mobile permits

Norway raised its concerns with the Indian government on Tuesday about a Delhi court decision cancelling mobile phone licences held by Norwegian phone giant Telenor.

India's Supreme Court last week scrapped 122 telecom permits, including 22 held by Telenor's majority-owned Indian unit, on the grounds the 2008 licensing process was underpriced and rigged.

Norway's information technology minister Rigmor Aasrud raised the issue with Indian telecom minister Kapil Sibal, to seek "fair treatment" for Telenor.

"We took up Telenor's case," she told reporters in New Delhi after talks with Sibal. "We had a good, fruitful and constructive meeting."

Norwegian state-backed Telenor is the majority shareholder in Uninor, a joint venture with Indian real estate player Unitech.

The licence sales are at the heart of one of India's biggest corruption scandals in which former telecom minister A. Raja is alleged to have mis-sold the permits and favoured some firms, costing the treasury up to $39 billion.

Telenor has said it is "considering all legal options" to resolve the problems embroiling its Indian subsidiary, which has 40 million customers, including filing a petition to review the court ruling.

Telenor paid $1.1 billion for its stake in the Indian mobile firm when it entered the country in 2009. Other foreign investors whose licences were cancelled include Gulf-based Etisalat and Russian conglomerate Sistema.

Sistema said on Tuesday it was preparing to file an appeal asking the Supreme Court to review the licence cancellations. It is the majority stakeholder in joint venture Sistema-Shyam which lost 21 out of its 22 licences.

A plaintiff can seek a review of a Supreme Court judgement within 30 days of it being passed, and if that plea is dismissed another one, known as a "curative petition," can be filed.

The licence cancellations take effect in four months, after which new auctions are to be held to re-allocate the permits. Those companies whose licences were scrapped have the right to bid.

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TELENOR

Norway’s Telenor sells out of India as tycoon weighs in

Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel will buy the local operations of Norway's Telenor, it said Thursday, as the ultra-competitive mobile market is shaken up by the country's richest man.

Norway's Telenor sells out of India as tycoon weighs in
Former Telenor CEO launching the company's ill-fated India business in 2009. Photo: peerdahl/Wikimedia Commons
Tycoon Mukesh Ambani launched Reliance Jio's 4G network in September with an audacious free service for the rest of 2016, followed by vastly cheaper data plans and free voice calls for life.
 
The move forced rivals to slash their tariffs and scramble to match the deep pockets of Jio, which is backed by Ambani's vast energy-to-chemicals conglomerate Reliance Industries and picked up 100 million subscribers in its first six months
   
Bharti's acquisition is the latest movement towards consolidation in India's telecoms sector as major players try to position themselves to best face the tough new environment.
   
The move, which still needs to be approved by regulators, will enhance its coverage, the company said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), and see Telenor exit India.
   
“The proposed acquisition will include transfer of all of Telenor India's assets and customers, further augmenting Airtel's overall base and network,” the Indian firm said in the statement.
   
Last month British mobile phone behemoth Vodafone announced that it was in talks to merge its Indian unit with Mumbai-based Idea Cellular in its own move to counter Jio's rise.
   
That deal would create India's largest telecoms company. Global brokerage firm CLSA estimated that the pair would command a combined 43 percent share of market revenue, ahead of Airtel, which is currently the market leader, on 33 percent.
 
Reliance Communications — owned by Ambani's brother Anil Ambani — and Tata Teleservices, part of the sprawling salt-to-steel Tata conglomerate, are also reportedly in talks to join forces.
   
Reliance merged with telecom operator Aircel in September last year. Bharti Airtel's shares surged more than five percent in Mumbai morning trade following the Telenor deal announcement.
   
“The decision to exit India has not been taken lightly,” Sigve Brekke, Telenor Group CEO, said in the statement.
   
“After thorough consideration, it is our view that the significant investments needed to secure Telenor India's future business on a standalone basis will not give an acceptable level of return,” he added.
   
Telecoms analyst Baburajan Kizhakedath said Telenor was quitting India because the intense competition meant there was no scope for growth. “The Airtel-Telenor deal is probably the best exit route for Telenor,” he told AFP.