Indian telecom industry has welcomed telecom commission’s approval to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in Indian telecom firms to 100 percent from the current 74 percent.
Telecom commission’s approval came on Tuesday. The decision will have a far reaching impact as several foreign telecom giants will seek to increase their stake in their joint ventures in India.
The additional FDI will also result into more funds available for top mobile operators to expand in the country.
“The new initiative will help the industry to bring in more FDI to fund the high capex demands of this sector especially in areas to enhance coverage, and launch new 3G and BWA services. This will undoubtedly have a huge benefit for our customers and higher license fee for the government,” Aircel said in a statement.
Malaysia’s Maxis Communication holds 74 percent stake in Aircel, while the remaining stake is held by Apollo Group.
The plan to increase in FDI may also result into acceleration of the current moves for consolidation.
“The much needed policy decision is certainly a pro industry and a pro consumer move. With fresh foreign direct investments coming in, this would further catalyze the process of proliferation of telecom services across the country,” said Sistema Shyam Tele-Services (MTS India) spokesperson.
MTS India is currently talking to a couple of telecom operators such as Uninor, Tata Teleservices, etc. to expand its presence.
picture source: wikimapia.org
