Telenor pares India capex plans

Telenor said that it has trimmed its accumulated capex guidance for the first five years of its operations in India by about 4 billion crowns (US$712.6mn) while maintaining other targets. The Norwegian wireless telephone operator said that its rollout, combined with better terms from equipment vendors will reduce capex requirements. The company is scheduled to launch its India services later this year. "The earlier communicated peak funding of Rs155bn is now expected to be somewhat lower," Telenor said in a statement, adding that the reduction in Indian capex would be around Rs30-35bn. "The market share ambition and other financial targets, including EBITDA break-even approximately three years after launch and operating cash flow break-even approximately five years after launch, are still valid," it added. Telenor also said that the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has formally allowed it to increase its shareholding in its Indian venture to 67.25%. The company gave the status update on India at Morgan Stanley's annual investor conference in Barcelona. Telenor has agreements with approximately 1,000 distributors and 300,000 points of sale in place. About 12,000 base stations have been installed already. It will rollout mobile services in majority of 22 Indian telecom circles, while meeting licence obligations in all. Telenor will evaluate the opex profile according to market development.

Telenor to buy higher stake in Unitech's wireless arm

Norwegian telecom major Telenor said that it plans to buy a higher stake in India's Unitech Wireless than it had earlier envisaged. While Telenor's initial investment under the agreement will continue to be the previously agreed Rs61.2bn, its stake would rise to 67.25% in Unitech Wireless (subject to regulatory approval), up from a previously planned 60%. Upon completion of the first phase of the investment, Telenor's ownership percentage will be 33.50%. The transaction, and the first phase of investment will be completed shortly, as the closing formalities related thereto have been finalised, Telenor said. On October 28, Telenor executed an agreement to acquire a controlling interest in Unitech Wireless, through subscription for new shares. The subscription for new shares in Unitech Wireless will, as previously announced, be completed in four phases. Telenor and Unitech have agreed to proceed with completion of the transaction with certain adjustments.