Bharti Telecom seeks approval for ₹4,900 cr FDI
NEWDELHI: Bharti Telecom Ltd has sought government approval for a ₹4,900 crore investment from Singapore-based Singtel and other foreign entities, PTI reported. Bharti Telecom is the promoter company of Bharti Airtel Ltd, the oldest private telecom operator in India.
“Bharti Telecom has applied for infusion of ₹4,900 crore in the company, which includes investments from Singtel and some other foreign investors. With this, Bharti Telecom will become a foreign entity, as majority stake will be held by overseas investors. DOT (department of telecommunications) is expected to approve this investment this month,” an official aware of the development said on condition of anonymity.
Sunil Bharti Mittal and his family currently own around 52% stake in Bharti Telecom. The fund infusion, if approved, will raise the foreign stake in Bharti Telecom beyond 50%.
Spokespersons at Bharti Airtel declined to comment to queries from Mint.
Bharti Telecom currently holds around 41% stake in Bharti Airtel, foreign promoter entities 21.46% and public shareholders around 37%.
Earlier this year, the department of telecom had rejected Bharti Airtel’s foreign direct investment (FDI) application as the company had not provided clarity on the foreign investor.
At present, total foreign shareholding in Bharti Airtel is 43%. With promoter firm Bharti Telecom becoming a foreign-owned entity, foreign shareholding in the company will cross 84%, said the official.
Bharti Airtel has been in discussions with Singtel and other entities for fund infusion. In August, the company had informed stock exchanges that Bharti Telecom, in order to retire some debt, may seek equity from its existing promoter group, which may include overseas entities and Singtel in proportion to its holding.
Bharti Airtel has said that even a marginal increase in foreign equity would take the foreign investment in Bharti Telecom above 50%, making it a foreign-owned entity. Bharti Airtel has already applied to raise FDI limit to 100% in the company.