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Sistema Buys into Indian Telecoms
AFK Sistema has bought a 10-percent share in Shyam Telelink, India's smallest cellular operator for $11.4 million from the Shyam Group. Sistema's share may increase to 51 percent, if Indian antimonopoly authorities approve the deal. That would cost the Russians $58.1 million. The Russian company hopes that it will become a launching point for expansion on the Indian market. Russian communications companies are buying more and more small operators outside the CIS.
Shyam Telelink operates in the Indian state of Rajasthan in the northwest part of the country. It has 99,600 subscriber as of the end of August and controlled 0.05 percent of the national market. It also serves about 150,000 landlines. The company's receipts last year slightly exceeded $30 million. The company recent filed an application to serve the entire country with the CDMA-800 standard.
This is Sistema's first purchase on the cellular market beyond the CIS. Earlier attempts to buy into operators in India, Turkey and Egypt were unsuccessful. Russian expansion in this market is going slowly. There are only five operators beyond the CIS with Russian involvement. Altimo recently purchased Cambodia's Sotelco, for example. Analysts note that purchases of minor companies provide easy access to markets. Sistema's stock price rose 2.63 percent on the London Stock Exchange yesterday.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Sep. 27, 2007
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