Naguib Sawiris, CEO of Orascom, which is open to acquire Hutch-Essar, said during his India visit that "they (Essar) felt bad because they thought they were not consulted before (the Egyptian firm) came on board.
I am open to meet Essar Officials for clearing their position. Earlier this year, Essar had protested to HTIL that they were not consulted when the Hong-Kong based company gave indirect entry to Orascom in the Indian venture by giving it 19.3 per cent equity in the Hutchison Telecom International, which has 67 per cent holding in
the Indian joint venture.
This had triggered a bitter battle between the two partners, with Essar even approaching the government raising the issue of security concern.
Asked about Essar's security apprehensions, Sawiris said, "I understand their position. Our visit to India is that we want to play a bigger role here, but we are looking also for some answers and clarity on the security and FDI issues. And we are here to find out if there is any restriction on our companies here."
Orascom is one of the three players, besides Reliance Communications and Malaysia's Maxis that are understood to be in race for Hutch-Essar where consent of the Indian partner, holding 33 per cent equity, would be crucial for the success of acquisition. Essar officials declined to comment on Orascom's position.
