Russian firm Sistema may soon list its Indian telecom services joint venture Sistema Shyam TeleServices in India, according to the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS).
A few months ago, TelecomFinance reported that the company was waiting for appropriate…
Russian firm Sistema may soon list its Indian telecom services joint venture Sistema Shyam TeleServices in India, according to the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS).
A few months ago, TelecomFinance reported that the company was waiting for appropriate market conditions before a listing, citing Sergey Cheremin, deputy chairman of board of directors at Sistema.
Today, Vsevolod Sementsov, the spokesman for Sistema told TelecomFinance that no decision about an IPO had been reached yet and that it would rest on Sistema Shyam’s board.
In addition, a Russian government’s capital injection of about US$670m into Sistema Shyam in return for a 20% stake is expected to be finalised before the listing as the company needs the exact list of its stakeholders for the IPO, said Sementsov. According to IANS citing Vsevolod Rozanov, president and chief of Sistema Shyam, the process could take up to four months.
The investment deal between the government and the operator is part of a scheme aimed at settling India’s outstanding debt dating back to the Soviet Union period. The two countries have agreed that Russia could use India’s outstanding debt, about US$1bn, to finance investments in India.
Sistema holds a 73.71% stake in Sistema Shyam, while Shyam Group holds 23.79%. The remainder is held by minority shareholders.
Shyam operates in 11 of India’s 22 telecom circles and has 4 million users.
