|
| STel to raise Rs 2,000 cr for telecom rollout | |
| BS Reporter / New Delhi November 07, 2009, 0:49 IST | |
STel, a joint venture between the Siva group and Bahrain Telecom, has announced raising of Rs 2,000 crore for its telecom venture. The company has licences for six circles — Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Assam.
The promoters have already brought in the equity capital of Rs 1,253 crore. The remaining Rs 953 crore would come from eight public sector banks led by IDBI. The funds would be used over two to three years, the company said.
“With the successful financial closure, we are set to launch our services in six circles over the current year and early next year,” STel CEO Shamik Das said in a statement.
Bahrain Telecom bought 49 per cent stake in STel for about $225 million. The Siva group holds the other 51 per cent in the entity.
The company has tied up with Tata, Reliance, Bharti and Quippo for towers and has also outsourced information technology operations.
STel had applied for mobile licences in all 22 circles. But the department of telecom had suddenly announced a cutoff date of September 25, 2007, for granting licences, with some conditions, and STel was finally given for only six circles.
STel had later challenged this in the Delhi High Court, which had quashed the DoT notification. DoT has since referred the matter to the telecom regulator, Trai, for its recommendations on the issue.
|
|
Content Guide
