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Hutchison Whampoa plans to list India cellular phone business

Hong Kong's conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa is planning to consolidate its cellular telephone assets in India and list them within a year to 18 months, it was reported on Monday.

Canning Fok, Hutchison managing director, said India would be the next area of focus, adding: "The new jewel in our group will be the India business.

"We will consolidate this portfolio before listing in the next 12 to 18 months," Fok told the South China Morning Post.

Fok said the company's Indian cellular business had a positive cash flow this year despite the group investing less than $500 million since 1995.

Hutchison holds a 25 per cent share of the Indian telecommunications market with operations in Bombay, New Delhi and Calcutta, Fok said.

The company has a 49 per cent stake in both Hutchison Max and Essar-Sterling in India and is awaiting approval to take a 49 per cent stake in Usha Martin Telekom.

Hutchison, headed by tycoon Li Ka-shing, sold its second-generation holdings -- Orange and Ovice-Stream Wireless -- as part of plans to upgrade its portfolio to third-generation mobile operators.

A shift in the geographical focus of Hutchison's telecom strategy has been evident since it said it would give up its pursuit of any more third-generation mobile licences in Europe.

"Unless a very attractive opportunity arises, we will concentrate on what we have now," said Fok.

Hutchison this year won 3G licences in Britain, Italy and Austria at a cost of about 11 billion euro ($9.6 billion).

Fok said that while the company was looking at other Asian telecom businesses, it had not yet mapped out a strategy for the region.

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