SingTel to raise Vodafone issue

Reiterating its stance that Vodafone's plans of acquiring 67 per cent stake in Hutch-Essar is "anti-competitive", Singapore Telecom (SingTel) is planning to raise the issue again at the forthcoming board meeting of Bharti Airtel.

The Singapore telecom major would voice its disagreement through one of its three nominees "" York Chye Chang, Paul O'Sullivan and Chua Sock Koong "" who are slated to attend the board meeting. Bharti Airtel has called for a board meeting on January 23, mainly to consider the third quarter results, a source said.

When contacted a SingTel spokesperson said that the company did not comment on market speculation.

This would be the second time SingTel would be taking up this issue. Earlier in December, the company had communicated its displeasure to Bharti Airtel, citing "competitive reasons" and had sought "Vodafone to stay away from the bid".

It was also believed to have asked for the removal of the two Vodafone nominees "" Gavin Darby and Bill Morrow "" from Bharti board. Both the companies have stakes in Bharti Airtel, with SingTel holding over 30.8 per cent stake and that of Vodafone standing at just under 10 per cent stake.

Vodafone is keen on acquiring the 67 per cent stake held by Hutchison Telecommunications International (HTIL) at an enterprise value of $17-18 billion.

The company is looking at getting a foothold in the exponentially growing Indian mobile communications market.

With over 136 million customers, and an addition of over 5 million subscribers per month, India's telecom sector is one of the fastest growing in the world.

At present, Vodafone and Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Communications are the front-runners in the bidding race for Hutch-Essar.

Hutch-Essar is a joint venture between HTIL, a subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa, and the Essar group in India. Essar holds a 33 per cent stake in the company.