The Essar Group not intent on selling stake

New Delhi, Feb 16: The Essar Group, which owns 33 per cent of Hutchison Essar, has firmly said it has no intentions to sell its shares in the joint venture company.

''It is Hutchison that is selling its shares, Essar has no plans to exit the company,'' the company said late last night.

The British mobile carrier Vodafone this week bid 11.1 billion dollars for the Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecom's (HTIL) 67 per cent stake in the mobile venture.

However, Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin said after over two-hour long parleys with Ruias that it was time for celebrations with Essar deciding to continue in Hutch-Essar.

Essar is a founding shareholder of Hutchison Essar and the group sees telecom as a core part of its business portfolio for the long term, it said in a statement.

''We will take a decision with regard to our future course of action in due course of time and in the best interests of the group,'' it said.

UNI