'Vodafone payment to Analjit Singh consistent with agreement'

A day after FIPB cleared Vodafone plc buying out minority stakeholders for Rs 10,141 crore in its India arm, Vodafone India's Non Executive Chairman Analjit Singh today said payments being made to him were consistent with agreement he had signed with the British telecom giant.
Analjit Singh, who is Founder and Chairman of Max India, owns 51 per cent interest in Scorpio Beverages Pvt Ltd, which is being paid Rs 1,241 crore for the 24.65 per cent stake it holds in Vodafone India. Piramal, the only other minority shareholder in Vodafone India, is being paid Rs 8,900 crore for its 10.97 per cent stake.

"The consideration payable to Mr Analjit Singh is consistent with the agreements signed between him and Vodafone, which were filed with the FIPB in 2007 and 2009," the statement said.
Singh hailed the decision of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) wherein it approved Vodafone's proposal to increase its shareholding in the UK based telecom major's Indian arm.
Terming the decision as "extremely encouraging and most forward looking", Singh said that this would send the right signal to investors all over the globe who have plans to invest in India.
"The decision is very important for ongoing reforms in India. In fact, it has a lot of symbolic significance because telecom is the first regulated sector to benefit from 100 per cent FDI," he said.

On the issue of his own shareholding in Vodafone, Singh clarified that he did not own any shares directly in Vodafone India Limited but holds an indirect equity interest in VIL through various holding companies, some of which have significant debt.

"The valuation of his stake in VIL will have to take this debt into consideration as well as the fact that the holdings are indirect unlike Piramal Enterprises Limited's direct interest in VIL," the statement said.
The decision of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) will now go to the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs for final approval.
Vodafone India is second largest telecom operator in the country with over 15.6 crore mobile subscribers.

The company is bullish on Indian market. Vodafone Group has earmarked investment of USD three billion on its telecom networks in India over next two years.