Close on the heels of acquiring Tyco Global Network for about Rs 600 crore (Rs 6 billion), Tatas-controlled Videsh Sanchar Nigam on Thursday said it was open to acquisitions and takeovers for maintaining high growth momentum.
"We are looking at more opportunities," Narasimhan Srinath, director, (operations), VSNL said shortly after the launch of Tata Indicom undersea optical fibre cable connecting Singapore and Chennai.
"We have significant investments planned for the next two years," he said, adding the future growth could come both from organic and inorganic (acquisitions and takeovers) routes.
Srinath said the corporation would be interested in three basic areas relating to customers, products and network whenever it got a proposal for buyouts.
On whether the group had any particular proposal under active consideration, he said "Interested parties keep getting in touch with us."
Asked if the investments by Tatas were yielding results and whether the group had enough sustaining power to withstand pressures, he said, "We have the power to face pressures."
As a part of investment plans, VSNL was actively pursuing establishing metropolitan area network to distribute the huge broadband capabilities it had acquired.
"During the current financial year, the focus would be on establishing the national long distance capabilities. We will cover eight major cities during the current year and take it to 30 by the next fiscal," he said.
"Our effort would be to provide retail broadband services at affordable price of below Rs 1000," he said.
