India rejects Etisalat share transfer proposal

NEW DELHI, INDIA: India has rejected a proposal to transfer shares from resident to non-resident in the India telecoms venture of UAE's Etisalat ETEL.AD, a finance ministry statement said on Thursday, without citing a reason.

But Shahid Balwa, the vice chairman of the Indian unit, Etisalat DB Telecom Pvt Ltd, told Reuters the application was rejected due to "technical reasons" and the firm would re-apply with required documents.

"We are now submitting a fresh application, say within seven days," Balwa said.

The UAE telecoms company said in February it had filed an application with Indian authorities to raise its stake in the Indian unit to 50 percent plus one share, from its current 44.73 percent.

The statement from India's Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), a unit of the finance ministry, gave no further details.

FIPB is the nodal agency for approving all foreign investments in India.