MTNL and BSNL deny being part of Zain deal

MTNL and BSNL issued clarification regarding news items reported on Sept. 8 and Sept. 9 that a Consortium made up of India’s Vavasi Group, regional telecom companies BSNL and MTNL and a Malaysian investor will buy a 46% stake in Kuwaiti telecom firm Zain. The state-run telecom companies clarified that no view has been taken regarding participation in the said consortium as has been reported widely. "However, MTNL and BSNL are always on the look out to explore all types of overseas business opportunities to expand their operations," the statement from the Telecom Ministry said. Vavasi MD Farid Arifuddin said that the group had only initial discussions with BSNL and MTNL, regarding the consortium. Interestingly, the deal is yet to be confirmed by Zain’s top management.

Media reports had said that an Indo-Malaysian consortium is set to buy a 46% stake in Kuwait’s Zain for US$13.7bn. Bard al-Khorafi, whose Khorafi Group holds 20% in Kuwait’s largest phone company, announced at a news conference that they, along with other shareholders, were selling 46% of Zain to a consortium made of Malaysia’s al-Bukhari Group, BSNL, MTNL and an Indian group called Vavasi. In a statement to Kuwait stock exchange, a Khorafi-controlled company National Investments said that BSNL and MTNL were part of a consortium that would pay 2 Kuwaiti dinars a share for the stake in Zain, West Asia’s third-largest telecom operator.