Sistema-Shyam to go public in H2 of 2010

Sistema-Shyam Teleservices Ltd (SSTL), a joint venture between the Russian firm Sistema and the Shyam Group, today said it will start the process of listing its Indian operations on the local bourses by next year.

"We will start the process of listing by next year. A high court order requires us to prepare for listing. Clearly, we will comply with the high court order," Sistema-Shyam chief executive officer Vsevolod Rozanov said here. He, however, clarified that the company is unlikely to get listed by the first half of next year.

"It's not the best time to list a telecom firm given the competition and the concern of the public and investors. According to me, the best time to list will not come this year or in the first half of next year," he said, adding ""we need to be prepared but the decision to list or not rests on us."

The Rajasthan High Court had asked the company to initiate the process of listing within 18 months starting from August 8, 2008.

Sistema, one of the largest diversified corporations in Russia and the CIS region-- Confederation of Independent States formed by former Soviet republics--has a 74 per cent stake in the joint venture with the Shyam Group. Sistema is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

The Shyam Group holds 23.5 per cent stake and the rest 2.5 per cent is with public.

Sistema-Shyam offers its mobile telephony services under the MTS brand name in the country.