Globacom outlines investment plans in Indian telecom sector

New Delhi, Apr 15: Identifying India as a global sourcing hub for its manpower needs Globacom, the telecom subsidiary of Africa's MA Group, has lined up huge investment plans in the telecom sector of the country.

''India is a nation waiting to arrive and is a natural choice for international players like us for whom manpower competency is critical. Having established their pedigree as a group of warm, vibrant, resourceful and IT savvy people, Indians are a good choice for the company,'' Globacom Chief Operating Officer (COO) (Nigeria) M A Jameel said.

In a recent global survey on manpower sourcing, the group has identified the Asian region and India in particular as a reservoir for skilled and technically competent manpower in the telecom and retail sector.

''India has been chosen by us as it is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. It is also a huge telecom market and therefore synergises with the core competency of Globacom,'' Mr Jameel added.

The group initially plans to focus its investments on the domestic telecom sector and then move on to other sunrise sectors over a period of time.

Spearheaded by mobile phones, tele-density in India this year has reached 12.73 per cent, according to the latest compilation by telecom regulator TRAI.

About 5.33 million subscribers were added in March this year taking the gross subscriber base to 140 million. The gross subscriber base of the fixed and mobile services together touched 124.78 million at the end of the quarter ending December last year from 113.07 million in September, showing a growth of around 10 per cent during the quarter.

UNI