10/05/2012 - Myclipp

The Economic Times/ - News, Sáb, 12 de Maio de 2012
CLIPPING INTERNACIONAL (Supreme Court)
India committed to protect foreign
investment: Sibal
NEW DELHI: India today assured Norway that foreign
investments would be protected amidst the
Scandinavian nation saying it apprehended political
implications if Telenor suffered losses due to adverse
telecom developments in this country.
Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal told the Norwegian Trade
and Industry Minister, Trond Giske, that the Indian
government is committed to protecting foreign
investments and ensuring a robust roadmap for them.
"There is absolutely no room for concern. Government
of India is committed to protect foreign investments in
India and make sure that not just Telenor, but all
foreign investors have a robust roadmap ahead," Sibal
said.
Giske is the representative of Norwegian government
on the board of Telenor, which holds 67.25 per cent
stake in the telecom operator, Uninor. The balance is
held by Unitech.
Uninor's 22 licences were among the 122 licences
cancelled by the Supreme Court on February 2,
issued during the tenure of the then telecom minister A
Raja. Uninor has permit to operate till September 7.
When asked about the meeting, Sibal said he told the
Norwegian Minister that: "We will take into account all
concerns of Telenor as we decide on our policy".
Earlier in the day, Giske had indicated that any failure
of Telenor's USD 3 billion investment in India could
have political implications.
"Telenor is not just any company. 54 per cent of the
shares are owned by Norwegian people through state
and thus, it has even further political implications that
such a company will be harmed.
"If this investment fails, it will be probably the biggest
loss a Norwegian company has in foreign investments
ever. I think also it will be fair to say that it will influence
the view of India as an investment country," Giske had
told reporters here.
Giske termed his meeting with Sibal as "friendly". "I
think the discussion we had were government friendly.
We were received at all political meetings with
understanding and hospitality and also an assurance
that they hope to find solution that ensures Telenor
presence in India," Giske told reporters, after his
meeting with Sibal.
To continue its telecom operations, Telenor needs to
acquire new licences and win spectrum through the
upcoming auction. However, the company has
expressed concern over the auction proposals of
telecom regulator, Trai.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had
suggested a base price of Rs 3,622 crore for one
megahertz (MHz) for pan-India spectrum. This is
around 10 times higher than the price at which 2G
licences bundled with 4.4 MHz spectrum were
allocated in 2008 during Raja's tenure.
According to Trai's recommendations, a minimum of 5
Mhz spectrum should be allotted, which means that
pan-India airwaves in 1800 MHz band will cost Rs
18,100 crore.
Telenor has objected to the high base price
recommended by Trai along with network roll-out
obligations and the quantum of spectrum proposed for
auction.
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