Telenor ups stake in Unitech Wireless

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Unitech Wireless has received 1493 crore rupees ($327 million) from Telenor, giving the Norwegian firm a further 11.1 per cent stake and taking its holding to 60.1 per cent in the Indian telecom operator.

Unitech Wireless, which was founded by Indian realty Unitech Ltd, said in a statement on Friday it got the money on Thursday as part of a plan that would eventually give Telenor 67.25 percent.

"This third investment will, as the earlier transactions, provide Uninor with working capital to fund the roll out of services across India," Sigve Brekke, head of Telenor Group's Asian operations said in the statement.

India's cabinet in October, which has allowed the maximum permissible 74 percent foreign holding in Unitech Wireless.

In December, Unitech Wireless launched mobile phone services in seven of India's 22 telecom zones under the Uninor brand. The company holds telecom licences for all of India, and is aiming for 8 percent of the Indian mobile market by 2018.

India is currently the world's fastest-growing and the second-largest wireless market with more than 500 million users.