No Decision On Vodafone-Hutch; Indian Mobile Users Rise 68 Percent

The Indian Foreign Investment Promotion Board deferred a decision, again, on whether to approve Vodafone’s proposed acquisition of a majority stake in Hutchison Essar…this is the third time. The board wants to discuss it further…India allows up to 74 percent direct foreign investment in the telecoms sector, but doubts were raised that a 15 percent stake held by local businessmen Asim Ghosh and Analjit Singh and associates of Mr. Singh may also be part of a foreign holding in the company.
Meanwhile, India added 67 million mobile-phone users in the year ended March 31, taking wireless connections in the country up 68 percent to 166 million, said The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. The country now has 207 million phone connections, including 41 million land phones. As a result of the rapid growth in the subscriber base, India had 18.31 telephone lines per 100 people at the end of March, compared to 12.80 a year earlier.

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