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TELECOMS giant Batelco has completed the second phase of its expansion into the Indian market by investing a further 38.8 million to bring its shareholding in S Tel Limited to 42.7 per cent.
It plans to acquire 49 per cent stake in S Tel for $225 million.
Earlier, Batelco chairman Shaikh Hamad bin Abdulla Al Khalifa announced that the company had completed the necessary formalities to finalise the acquisition of a 36.69 per cent shareholding in S Tel.
"We have been working very closely with our partners and we are looking forward to the launch of full services from S Tel during quarter four this year," said Batelco Group CEO Peter Kaliaropoulos.
"We are working tirelessly to meet our commitments to ensure the success of this venture, the first for Batelco outside of the GCC and Middle East region," he added.
S Tel has licenses to operate in six Indian states - Bihar, Orissa, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, North East and Assam.
The company was established to gain entry into the rapidly growing mobile markets of north east and north west India.
With the population in these areas around the 230 million mark and mobile penetration less than 20 per cent, S Tel aspires to grow rapidly, in response to the needs of these largely untapped areas.
Mr Kaliaropoulos said the investment in S Tel will provide significant growth opportunities for Batelco in the expanding Indian market, the third largest and fastest growing mobile market in the world, where mobile penetration is currently growing at more than 11 million subscribers a month. Batelco now has operations in seven markets across the Middle East, North Africa and Asia.
