Cabinet okays FDI for Aditya Birla Telecom

New Delhi, Oct 16: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Thursday, Oct 16 gave its approval to the proposal of M/s Aditya Telecom Limited to receive foreign investment from P5 Asia Holdings Investment (Mauritius) Limited, Mauritius, which will result in FDI flow amounting to Rs 2,704.21 crore in the country.

Briefing newspersons on the outcome of the CCEA decisions, Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said the approval by the Cabinet Committee is subject to the conditions recommended by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board(FIPB).

The conditions of the FIPB are; (a) the issue and allotment of up to 25,00,000 compulory convertible preference shares of a face value of Rs 10 each of M/s Aditya Birla Telecom Limited to P5 Asia Holding Investments(Mauritius) Limited for an aggregate consideration of the rupee equivalent of 640,000,000 dollars (Rs 2,704.21 crore) constituting 20 per cent of the share capital of the company on a fully diluted basis; (b) The enhancement of the foreign investment limit in M/s Aditya Birla Teleco Limited to 74 per cent; (c) M/s Aditya Birla Telecom Limited to act as an 'operating cum holding company" and make downstream investments from time to time as follows; (1) To acquire 19,047 shares of Rs 10 each representing 16 per cent of the total paid up equity capital of M/s Indus Towers Limited, a company which is engaged in provision of passive infrastructure, that is towers, in the telecom sector; (2) M/s Aditya Birla Telecom Limited also holds 50,000 equity shares of Rs 10 each representing 100 per cent of the equity share capital of M/s Idea Cellular Towers Infrastructure Limited, a company registered as an Infrastructure Provider-1 with the Department of Telecommunication. The approval in this regard is post facto.

Mr Sibal said the approval would result in FDI amounting to nearly Rs 2,704.21 crore in the country.

UNI