UPDATE: Norway Minister: India Needs To Provide Stable Policies For Foreign Investors
10 Aprile 2012 - 1:13PM
Dow Jones News
The Norwegian government Tuesday put its weight behind Telenor
ASA's (TEL.OS) efforts to avoid taking a massive hit on its India
operations, saying that New Delhi must provide more predictability
if it wants to draw foreign investors.
The comments come in the context of rising investor concerns
after a recent court order cancelled 122 telecommunications
licenses--effectively wiping out billions of investment
dollars--and as the government moves to change tax rules with
retrospective effect.
Norwegian Trade and Industry Minister Trond Giske, who is on a
visit to New Delhi, Tuesday said he has taken up the Telenor issue
with Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
Other Norwegian companies are looking for possibilities to
invest in Indian sectors such as infrastructure and services, but
they need predictability before putting in money, Giske told
reporters.
The Norwegian government owns 53.97% of Telenor, which has
already invested about $3 billion in its India operations.
The company is facing the risk of being stopped from providing
services in the country after the Feb. 2 Supreme Court order
cancelling all telecom licenses issued without auction since
January 2008 to several operators including Unitech Wireless Ltd.,
Telenor's joint venture with Unitech Ltd. (507878.BY).
The order will come into effect on June 2.
The Supreme Court has also asked the Indian government to hold
auctions to re-allot licenses and bandwidth. The government said it
expects to take at least 400 days to complete the auctions, by
which time the Norwegian company would have had to stop its
operations in the country.
Giske backed Telenor's demand that the auctions be held by June,
saying: "The Indian government has said they need more time for
auctions. My point is that there has to be a parallel in
withdrawing the licenses and conducting new auctions".
He said that companies cannot lose business because of a gap
between the cancellation of licenses and fresh auctions.
Jon Fredrik Baksaas, president and chief executive of Telenor,
reiterated that the timing and the format of the auctions--whether
it's restricted to only those losing licenses or open to all--will
be key for the company to take a decision on whether it wants to
continue in India.
Telenor entered India by acquiring a 67.3% stake in Unitech
Wireless from Unitech in 2008 for about INR61 billion ($1.25
billion). It is among the largest foreign investors in India's
telecom sector.
Telenor has already threatened to seek damages and compensation
for its investments from the Indian government if the license issue
isn't resolved.
Giske said he didn't discuss the issue of damages with
Mukherjee.
--By Prasanta Sahu and Romit Guha, Dow Jones Newswires;
+91-43563309; prasanta.sahu@dowjones.com
Grafico Azioni Telenor ASA (QX) (USOTC:TELNY)
Storico
Da Giu 2024 a Lug 2024
Grafico Azioni Telenor ASA (QX) (USOTC:TELNY)
Storico
Da Lug 2023 a Lug 2024