Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Saturday, Nov 19, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Saturday, Nov 19, 2005 |
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Alliances & Joint Ventures Corporate - Announcements Branson to unveil `creative business' project next week — Media/entertainment foray likely Ashwini Phadnis
New Delhi , Nov. 18 SIR Richard Branson of the UK-based Virgin Group seems all set to enter the media/entertainment scene in India. This will be in addition to his already announced intention to foray into telecom and hospitality sectors here. But Sir Richard is not talking details as yet. On record all that he is prepared to say is that he intends to make a "big announcement" next week about one project here and could follow that up with another announcement about the entry into the telecom sector in the next three-four months. "We have a big and exciting announcement regarding India next week. It is a partnership with high-profile Indians and involves creative business. The sector into which we plan to enter is one that will explode not only here but globally," Sir Richard said at an exclusive breakfast meeting with Business Line here on Friday. However, due to the confidentiality agreement involved with the project, the Virgin chief said that he would not be able to specify which sector the Group would be entering just yet. "The announcement will be made next Wednesday and we feel it will be well received. It will lead to tremendous job creation here," he said. Telecom entry: As for the entry into the telecom sector, Sir Richard said that currently, they were working on an idea. "If it all comes together we should be in a position to make an announcement in about three-to-four months. In fact, that is the reason I am travelling to Mumbai later today." On aviation: Asked whether Virgin had received a response from the Indian Government on its proposal to invest in the domestic aviation sector, Sir Richard said, "We have not received a categorical response. However, at the moment the indications are that if we push the proposal then the response may not be positive." The current Indian laws do not allow a foreign airline to invest either directly or indirectly into the domestic aviation sector. However, on an earlier visit, Sir Richard had indicated that he would be willing to invest his personal funds into an airline project in India, if the authorities permitted. Funding Air Sahara: Commenting on his proposal to invest funds in Air Sahara, Sir Richard said that the airline seemed to be losing a lot of money. "We have expertise and people who should be able to help. We are willing to do so even though our normal approach is to start and build a company from scratch," Sir Richard said.
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