Hutchison Whampoa of Hong Kong has put its initial public offering (IPO) plans on hold for the time being because of the sluggish primary market conditions.
Hutchison had planned to offer equity to the Indian public through a maiden float after merging its cellular operating companies in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Gujarat. The IPO was to hit the market in early 2002, as announced in December last.
"No company in the country will be able to raise funds from the primary market due to the prevailing dismal conditions. We will have to wait for some more time for finalising the IPO plans due to the delay in combining our operations. However, we are not dependent on the IPO as promoters are capable of bringing in funds," a senior Hutchison executive said.
The company, at the time of the IPO announcement, had not disclose the size of the proposed issue. In the holding company, Hutchison was to hold the controlling stake, while other major stakeholders would be the Essar group, Hindujas and other strategic investors.
The company's plans to combine the cellular operations will also be delayed due to some strategic reasons, sources said.
Hutchison was earlier waiting to finalise the national launch of cellular services through a clutch of acquisitions of existing circles and acquisitions of licences through fourth cellular bids.
Following the bagging of fourth cellular licences, Hutchison, in association with the Essar group, will launch services in new circles including Andhra Pradesh, Chennai and Andhra Pradesh by the middle of the next year.
The plans to bring all circles under one entity have been on for some time. However, Hutchison is yet to its finalise amalgamation plans, said top Hutchison executives.
