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Vittorio Colao, CEO of Vodafone, the British telecom company that launched international arbitration proceedings against India last month, has welcomed the new government-in-waiting. He said there is a “great opportunity” to restore India’s international investment and expressed his willingness to engage with the Government over a long-running tax dispute.
“I am optimistic that the BJP will quickly do something to restore confidence in the country,” said Colao during a press event for the global group’s results for the financial year that ended in March.
No provision Vodafone has not made any financial provisions for the settlement of the dispute relating to the group’s acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa’s Indian mobile assets seven years ago, and last month commenced international arbitration proceedings against the Indian government. The company had filed a notice to signal its intent to take action after India introduced legislation with retrospective effect two years ago.
Colao said the decision not to make any such provisions had been made on the advice of legal counsel in India and the UK, who believe that it is a dispute the group will win. “We have to do what is right.”
‘Great opportunity’ “I think we have an issue that is really damaging for the Indian reputation … maybe this is a great opportunity for the new government to make a statement on how open the country is again,” said Colao, adding that he would engage in “any conversation” deemed necessary by the new government.
Defending the company’s approach to the dispute he insisted that it had always been willing to engage. “We did engage … we always engage … we are not adversarial.” With the tax dispute ongoing, there has been no progress on Vodafone’s long-talked-about listing in India, but the company has continued to invest heavily in the country, pouring in just under $1 billion of its global Project Spring investment programme.
Last year, Vodafone India successfully bid for £1.9 billion worth spectrum licences in 11 telecom circles. In the past year, the group’s Indian operations proved among its most successful, with EBITDA rising just over 26 per cent.
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