Norwegian telco Telenor will seek damages from the Indian government in case the dispute over the cancellation of its 22 Indian 2G licences cannot be settled.
The Times of India reports that such compensation is valued at approximately US$14bn, a figure…
Norwegian telco Telenor will seek damages from the Indian government in case the dispute over the cancellation of its 22 Indian 2G licences cannot be settled.
The Times of India reports that such compensation is valued at approximately US$14bn, a figure that Telenor did not confirm.
“While we haven’t stated any amount, we do intend to seek compensation for all investment, guarantees and damages. We are hopeful that it remains the government’s intent to protect and encourage bona fide foreign investment in the country,” the Norwegian company said in an emailed statement.
In early February, India’s Supreme Court ordered the cancellation of 122 licences, held by eight operators in total, after concluding that these were illegally granted in 2008.
Since then, several affected operators have taken legal steps to protect their investments in the country.
Telenor said today that it intends to invoke the provisions of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) between India and Singapore, as the Norwegian telco owns its stake in Indian mobile JV Uninor through a unit registered in Singapore.
Telenor holds a 67.25% stake in Uninor, while real estate conglomerate Unitech controls the rest. The two partners have been embroiled in a dispute over the management of their JV for several months now.
A few weeks ago, Russian financial group Sistema, which controls part of Indian mobile operator Sistema Shyam TeleServices (SSTL), also said it may consider commencing proceedings against the Indian government as provided under the Bilateral Investment Treaty between Russia and India.
Separately, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) said in a press release on 26 March that it is planning to recommend to the government that entry licence fees should not be refunded to companies that surrendered or lost their licences.
If approved, this proposal, which is part of a ‘response paper on issues relating to exit policy for various telecoms licences’, is expected to be a further blow to operators affected by licence cancellations.
