Thaindian News

Kolkata, Sep 23 (IANS) A dual listing structure for the proposed Bharti-MTN deal is linked to full capital account convertibility and the legal implication of the matter needs to be looked at properly, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here Wednesday.
“The dual listing of the firms (Bharti Airtel and MTN of South Africa) is linked to full account convertibility and that has to be looked into,” Mukherjee told reporters on the sidelines of the 108th annual general meeting of the Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce (MCC) here.

Asked whether his ministry would step into the deal between Airtel and MTN, he said the government would welcome the deal if it happened in compliance with the “law of the land”.

“There are certain legal implications which are now being examined (by the Finance Ministry),” he said.

Under the announced scheme of the Bharti-MTN deal, Sunil Mittal-promoted Airtel is to acquire 49 percent interest in MTN.

In return, MTN will acquire 25 percent interest in the indian firm for $2.9 billion and MTN shareholders will acquire another 11 percent.

The 15-year-old MTN is South Africa’s largest telecom company with over 103 million subscribers in 21 countries.

The deal fell through last year. Then renewed talks were announced in May and have already been extended twice. The latest deadline expires Sep 30.

The South African government had earlier said it would not compromise on maintaining the South African character of MTN. As a compromise, it is agreeable to a dual listing of the telecom giants, which would ensure that the company does not get delisted from the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE).

Accordingly, it also approached the Indian counterparts to consider a dual-listed structure, which is not allowed under the existing Indian laws.