The Hindu Business Line : Indian equity in Bharti down to 26 pc

According to official information available here, the foreign equity in Bharti Airtel is now at 73.83 per cent with the Singapore telecom major SingTel and the British cellular company Vodafone being the key foreign investors in the company. Bharti officials were not available for comment.

Indian promoters

Mr Sunil Mittal, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharti Group, Mr Rajan Mittal, Joint Managing Director and Mr Rakesh Mittal, Managing Director, Bharti Group, are the Indian promoters of the company. The Indian shareholding was at 46.4 per cent before the FDI cap was relaxed by the Government to allow 74 per cent foreign direct investment in November 2005.

Mr Sunil Mittal had earlier said that the promoters were open to diluting their stake even though they would ensure that the management remained with them. As per the new FDI law, the management of the company will continue to be with the Mittals despite Sing Tel having nearly 30 per cent share. Mr Mittal had said that funds were required for Bharti Enterprises' foray into new businesses.

More FDI inflows

The company had also taken the approval of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board to increase the FDI to 74 per cent as an enabling provision. Bharti is among the three Indian cellular companies which has increased its FDI beyond 49 per cent since the FDI cap in telecom sector was increased.

Giving out this information in Parliament, the Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology, Mr Shakeel Ahmed, said Essar Hutchison, Bharti Airtel and Aircel Ltd have more than 49 per cent FDI. While Hutchison Whampoa has increased its stake in Essar-Hutchison to 68 per cent, Malaysian company Maxis Berhard has taken 74 per cent stake in Aircel Ltd. The other Indian telecom operators which have got FDI inflows include Tata Teleservices (24.4 per cent), MTNL (22.4 per cent) and VSNL (13.3 per cent).