The Indian government will help Bharti Airtel Ltd. in its bid to buy most of the African assets of Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Co., or Zain, if the Indian mobile-phone operator seeks any assistance, the federal corporate affairs minister said Wednesday.
Bharti Airtel, India's largest mobile-phone company by subscribers, though hasn't approached the corporate affairs ministry for any help, Salman Khurshid told reporters on the sidelines of an industry conference.
He also said that there aren't any apparent policy issues in the Bharti-Zain Deal as of now.
“We have matured enough to see multinational companies emerge out of India. We are very happy to see an Indian company expand its footprint overseas,” Mr. Khurshid said.
Bharti Airtel is in exclusive talks until March 25 to buy Zain's African assets, except in Morocco and Sudan, in its latest bid to enter a fast-growing market overseas as intense competition and price wars are hurting growth in India.
Source: WSJ