India approves Telenor investment in Unitech

NEW DELHI, INDIA: India's cabinet on Monday approved a proposal to allow Norway's Telenor to raise its stake in India's Unitech Wireless, a unit of realty firm Unitech.

Telenor had proposed to increase its stake in Unitech Wireless (Tamil Nadu) Ltd, a joint venture between India's Unitech Group and Telenor, to 74 per cent. The joint venture is called Uninor.

The Norwegian firm has invested in the joint venture through its Singapore-based subsidiary Telenor Asia.

"This is subject to the conditions recommended by FIPB (Foreign Investment Promotion Board). The approval would result in FDI amounting to Rs.3,740 crore in the country," Commerce Minister Anand Sharma told reporters here.

Union Trade Minister Anand Sharma also told reporters that the cabinet approved a 5 per cent stake sale in state-run power producer NTPC Ltd.

Welcoming the CCEA decision, Uninor said it is awaiting details and formal communication from the Government.

"We welcome the CCEA’s decision to allow further investment by the Telenor Group into the joint venture. We are currently focused and on-track to launch our services in the country by the end of this year,” said Stein-Erik Vellan, MD, Uninor.

(With inputs from Reuters)