MTNL, VSNL in race to buy Lankan mobile firm

Swedish telecom firm Telia has short-listed two Indian telecom companies to buy its controlling stake in the Sri Lankan subsidiary, Suntel, officials said today.

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL) and the Tata Group-controlled VSNL are among the top suitors actively pursued by Telia with MTNL recently appointing a consultant to go through Suntel's books.

Suntel, a small wireless phone operator, offers telephone and Internet services to over 5,00,000 customers in Sri Lanka. Its other key shareholders include Townsend of Hong Kong, Sri Lanka's NDB Bank, and International Finance Corporation (IFC) - a member of the World Bank Group.

"Four firms have been currently short-listed as potential buyers," Jeremy Huxtable, chief executive, Suntel said today.

Others bidders include Sri Lanka's blue chip conglomerate John Keells Holdings and Malaysia's biggest phone company Telekom Malaysia.
Telekom currently owns Sri Lanka's biggest mobile phone company, Dialog Telekom.

Suntel posted a profit of Rs 886 million for 2006-07.