Nigerian Telecom Major to invest USD 500-800 million in India

Mumbai, Apr 14 (UNI) Nigerian business conglomerate, the M A Group is seeking a strategic partner in Indian Telecom sector to invest a sum of USD 500-800 million to utilise India as its Asian hub for outsourcing human resources as well Technology expertise.

''We intend to set up our Asian hub in India with association with our strategic partner...This will cater to both our human resources and technological expertise'', said Mr M A Jameel Chief Operating Officer of the telecom business kown as Globacom.

''We need to outsource at least 400 technical persons from India for our business expansion plans both in Africa and Asia'', he said.

In fact, the rapid progress made by the group in telecom business in Nigeria was mainly due to involvement of about 180 indian expatriats employed with the Group, Mr Jameel said.

In India, he said, the company is in discussions with leading telecom players both in private and public sectors and the areas of strategic interest include business process outsourcing (BPO), call centres, gateway connectivity and, technology and equipment.

The strategic deal would be completed in the next 2-3 months while the final working of the deal would depend of the approval of the Indian authority, he said, refusing to reveal further on the identity of the indian partners.

Globacom is the brand name for the telecom business of the USD 5 billion M A Group promoted by Dr Mike Adenugo, the richest person in Nigeria who has business interest in petroleum oil known as Conoil Plc and banking with the entity name as the Equitorial Trust Bank.

The Group's telecom business last year achieved considerable market share in Nigeria (second largest national operator) and is intended to expand its business interest in African nations starting with Ghana and India in Asia. It is engaged in business of GSM mobile, fixed and online internet operators in Nigeria.

Last year, the Group invested about USD 2.5 billion in telecom business towards setting up gateway infrastructure in Europe and Africa and also currently laying down a underseas optical fibre cable from Lagos to London, connecting all west coastal nations of Africa.

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