Tata Power invests Rs 352 crore in group telecom businesses

Tata Power, the energy arm of the Tatas, has invested Rs 352 crore in the group's telecom businesses.

At Rs 212 crore, the bulk of the company's fresh investments were in Panatone Finvest, the special purpose vehicle holding stake in Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL).

Tata Power has invested Rs 25 crore and Rs 115 crore in Tata Teleservices, the group's basic telephony flagship, and in Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra), its newly acquired subsidiary, respectively.

With this, the firm's total exposure to VSNL and Tata Teleservices has jumped to Rs 500 crore each. Its total investment in the group's telecom companies has been scaled up to Rs 1,115 crore.

"The company believes that customer ownership is critical for success in the telecom sector. Vertically integrated players offering the full range of telecom services will create long-term value. The firm is thriving to bring the long-term benefits of participation in an integrated telecom value chain to its shareholders," Tata Power has said.

The company holds a 39.98 per cent stake in Panatone Finvest and a 35.08 per cent stake in Tata Teleservices. With Tata Industries, Tata Power is now the largest investor in the group's telecom business.

The group plans to invest around Rs 14,000 crore in its telecom business, which has operations ranging across basic telephony, national and international long-distance services and Internet access.

While VSNL is the main vehicle for the international long-distance and Internet access businesses, Tata Teleservices is into basic telephony and limited mobility operations.

The Tatas also have an equity interest in Idea Cellular, the mobile telephony joint venture with the Aditya Birla Group and AT&T.

Between them, Tata Teleservices and Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) offer both WILL and GSM services in Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat and Maharashtra.