Vodafone to invest $2 bln in India

New Delhi, May 26 (UNI) British telecom giant Vodafone Plc plans to invest two billion dollars in India to accelerate its penetration in the country with the introduction of low-cost handsets.

According to media reports, Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin, in a letter to Finance Minister P Chidambaram, said his company will make new capital investments of nearly two billion dollars in the first year of its operations.

The company will also put in place network-sharing arrangements with Bharti Airtel (and others if they wish to join) to accelerate rural coverage and bring the benefits of its global enterprise services to Indian customers.

A Vodafone spokesperson here, on being contacted, however refused to confirm or deny the reports.

''Vodafone has not made any announcement today. If we have anything to say, we will do it publicly,'' he told UNI over the phone.

On the company's roll-out plan, he said ''things are being worked out''.

The company will be renamed Vodafone Essar and will market services using the Vodafone brand in due course, Mr Sarin reportedly told the finance minister.

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