- Govt agrees to grant Internet service licence to Qualcomm
- Sun Pharma to buy remaining Taro stake
- Unitech Wireless rights issue in 2012
Govt agrees to grant Internet service licence to Qualcomm
ndia has agreed to grant an Internet service licence to Qualcomm Inc., telecom secretary R. Chandrashekhar said on Tuesday, clearing the way for the US chip maker to launch broadband services in the country after its application for the licence was rejected initially.
Qualcomm last year paid about $1 billion (`4,910 crore) for wireless spectrum it won in a state auction in four of India's 22 telecom zones. The company needs to get the so-called Inter- net service provider's licence to launch broadband services.
The ministry had earlier cited Qualcomm missing the dead- line for applying for the Internet service providers' licence as one of the reasons for rejecting the application. The ministry had also said Qualcomm applied for four separate licences, whereas it should have applied for just one.
Qualcomm confirmed later on Tuesday that it had received a letter from the telecom minis- try, offering to grant the company a licence covering all the four zones.
The company had previously said it fully complied with the application process and will work with the Indian authorities to resolve the matter.
It last year sold a total 26% stake in its India broadband venture to Indian firms Global Holdings and Tulip Telecom to comply with Indian rules, which allow a maximum 74% foreign holding in local telecom companies.
Qualcomm, which is pushing for the deployment of LTE (long-term evolution) broad- band technology, has said it is looking for more operator partners in the Indian venture and plans to eventually exit the business.
Other firms who have wire- less broadband spectrum in select zones include top telecom firm Bharti Airtel Ltd, smaller carrier Aircel, and privately held Augere and Tikona.
A unit of Reliance Industries Ltd, India's most valuable firm, has wireless broadband spec- trum in all 22 zones of the country.
None of the broadband spectrum winners have launched services yet.
Sun Pharma to buy remaining Taro stake
Sun Pharmaceutical Indus tries Ltd has proposed to buy all of the outstanding shares it does not already own in its Israeli subsidiary, Taro Phar maceuticals Industries Ltd.
`Mint' reported in September last year, that the Mumbaibased firm had gained a 48.7% stake, along with com bined voting rights of 65.8%, after it acquired a 12% stake held by the original promoters of Taro. Sun Pharma has pro posed to buy the shares at $24.50 apiece.Unitech Wireless rights issue in 2012
Norway's Telenor ASA said on Tuesday the planned rights issue by its Indian unit, Unitech Wireless, to raise `8,200 crore ($1.68 billion) will take place next year.
Sigve Brekke, executive vicepresi dent of Telenor and its head of Asia, said the firm, which trades under the brand Uninor, has not appointed any adviser for the capital raising.“I don't have any exact time frame, but, of course, there are certain steps and processes that we need to follow so it will take some months. It will not hap pen this year,“ Brekke, who is also the chief executive of Unitech Wireless said.
He said “yes” when asked if the rights issue will definitely happen next year.
The Company Law Board, meanwhile, issued notices to Unitech and its associates on an arbitration plea filed by part ner Telenor with regard to a dispute over the rights issue of Uninor.
(Source-: mintlive.com)