Britain pitches for Vodafone

The UK has raised the matter of telecom giant Vodafone's intended bid for acquiring Hutchison Essar and wanted a level-playing field for British companies.

"We have taken up the issue (with Indian government).. and sought a level playing field for British companies," Alistair Darling, UK Secretary for Trade and Industry, told PTI.

Darling's comments come just days after EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson talked to Commerce Minister Kamal Nath on the issue.

"We want that whenever bids are submitted, they are evaluated on an equal basis," he said.

Darling will be meeting Nath tomorrow and the two hotly-contested bids - that of Tata Steel's proposed takeover of Corus and Vodafone's intended acquisition of Hutch Essar - are expected to be on agenda.

Earlier in the day, Darling said during a conference in Mumbai that investment climate in Britain was very liberal. He, however, did not mention Tata Steel's bid to acquire London-based Corus.

Wherever restrictions are not needed, "we will try to fix them. In the UK, we have a liberal market and in most cases buy-outs of UK companies are possible," he said.

"That should be reciprocated," Darling said.