Vodafone is considering an Initial Public Offering of shares in India, Vodafone Group CEO Vittorio Colao said here today. The “preparatory work” for the IPO is underway, he said but declined to give a definitive timeline.

He said India, where it has around 10 per cent share, is one of Vodafone’s “five global pillars”. Colao said his company will continue to invest heavily in the market, to take advantage of the digital revolution.

Vodafone has already invested ₹80,000 crore in India, and brings in ₹8,500 crore every year “regardless of cycles”, he added. Of the key developments transforming businesses worldwide, he said Vodafone was a leader in machine-to-machine communication and Internet of Things, and a significant player in enterprise mobility.

“We are partnering with a growing number of Indian firms as they expand their international presence,” he said. The enterprise segment has been growing at 20 per cent/year for Vodafone, while the Indian business has been clocking 12.5 per cent growth.

On Vodafone’s long-running tax dispute in India, Colao reiterated that Vodafone “welcomed” the recent court judgments, and the government’s position on respecting court directives. Colao batted for net neutrality. “Our position is clear. There should be no discrimination between types of data, but segmentation — the freedom to provide differentiated or better quality service to certain customers — should be allowed,” he said.

Meets Jaitley, IT Minister Later, Calao met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. Both Colao and Jaitley declined to comment about the 20-minute meeting but sources said the tax dispute came up for discussion. Prasad raised the issue of call drops and insisted that telcos must optimise networks. “The Vodafone global CEO appreciated spectrum trading and sharing norms and also requested that spectrum should be auctioned in bigger blocks,” he said.

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