Moscow, Sep 27 (RIA Novosti) A Russian firm has bought a 10 percent stake in an Indian cell phone service provider and is mulling to increase its share to 51 percent in the Indian company.
AFK Sistema, one of Russia’s largest diversified corporations, has paid $11.4 million for the 10 percent stake in India’s Shyam Telelink, a basic telecom services licensee for the state of Rajasthan with a population of 62 million.
AFK Sistema now intends to increase its stake to 51 percent, in a deal that could be worth a total of over $58 million, according to the company.
“The acquisition of a stake in Shyam Telelink Ltd. is part of our strategy of entering emerging markets and integrating further into the world business community. We consider India to be one of the most attractive markets, with a high growth potential,” the company said Wednesday.
AFK Sistema, which manages businesses in service-based industries, including telecommunications, technology, insurance, banking, real estate, retail and media, reported its 1H07 net profit of 43.06 billion roubles (about $1.67 billion).