|
BSNL IPO may fetch $ 10 bn
New Delhi, Aug 7: Indian government today broached plans for
the public listing of telecom giant BSNL with its workers, but neither
the proposal nor an offer of ESOPs found any takers, reports PTI adding
that Communications Minister A Raja, who attempted to win the consent of
employees union for diluting 10 per cent of BSNL's stake, said that the
listing could be in the band of Rs 300-400 a share by the end of this
fiscal. BSNL, India's top telecom firm by subscriber numbers, has a paid
up equity capital of around Rs 5,000 crore and could achieve a revenue
of Rs 50,000 crore at the end of this fiscal. As of end-June, BSNL had
nearly 73 million wireless and fixed-line subscribers.
"This is the first time I am talking to the BSNL union on the issue of
listing after its board took a decision on the same last week. We have
explained to the union on how the IPO will benefit the company," Raja
said after meeting the workers. To win the consensus of the three lakh
BSNL employees, the company's board offered workers 500 shares each at
Rs 10 a share, while the IPO would be in a range of Rs 300-400 per
share, the minister said. The union, however, rejected the ESOP package.
"This Esop is a bait.. We will not fall for it," BSNL Employees Union
General Secretary V A N Namboodiri said. The union fears for jobs of
workers after the IPO, as also about the growth of the company. BSNL
Director Finance S D Saxena said the conservative valuation was roughly
$ 100 billion. "Vodafone got Hutchison Essar a valuation of 21 billion
dollar and this company is 5-6 times bigger," he said.
BSNL union’s ‘no’ to IPO
New Delhi, Aug 7 : Indian government today sought BSNL
workers' consent for diluting 10% stake through an IPO to fund expansion
plans, but the employees union rejected the plan as also offers for
ESOPs. "This is the first time I am talking to the BSNL union on the
issue of listing after its board took a decision on the same last week.
We have explained to the union on how the IPO will benefit the company,"
a PTI report quoted Communications Minister A Raja as telling
newspersons after meeting the workers. The employees were also offered
stock options during the talks, but the proposal did not find favour
with the union.
"We are not interested in the ESOP package given by the Board. We don't
want any IPO in BSNL. We are not convinced with their argument that the
IPO is beneficial for BSNL's growth," BSNL Employees' Union General
Secretary V N Namboodiri told reporters after meeting Raja. BSNL has
been rooting for a public listing to raise money to fund expansion
plans. The company, which has 70 million subscribers, is valued at 100
billion dollars and a 10 per cent dilution of stake could fetch 10
billion dollars (nearly Rs 40,000 crore). BSNL Chairman Kuldeep Goyal
said there is no timeframe as to when the IPO will happen. "There is no
immediate need for it but we are preparing the ground work... (and
claimed) we are seeing some positive reaction from the union on the
issue."
India: Least desired place to expats
New Delhi, Aug 7: It offers the cheapest accommodation, the
highest savings and a luxurious life across the world, but India is
still the least desired place when it comes to attracting the
expatriates for a longer stay, a new survey reveals. This revealed in a
survey of expatriates across four continents, conducted by global
banking major HSBC, Singapore, the US and UAE have emerged as the top
three most popular destinations among expats, reports PTI. The overall
ranking, where India has been placed at ninth position, is based on four
criteria -- longevity, earning and saving, luxury and accommodation.
In individual categories, India has been ranked as the country with the
cheapest accommodation, while it comes on the top in terms of earnings
and savings for the expats. In terms of living a luxurious life also,
India has been ranked as the third best after UAE and Singapore.
However, when it comes to longevity, which measures the score of a
country in terms of attracting expats and where expats settle down,
India has been ranked at the bottom of the list. The three countries
scoring highest in terms of longevity are Netherlands, Germany and the
US.
Europe has emerged as the most popular destination in terms of the
length of time expats stay there. More than three quarters (82%) of
expats now living in the Netherlands have been there for three or more
years, followed by Germany (77%) and Spain (76%). In the overall ranking
of 15 economies, Jersey, the UK and France emerged as the lowest rated
expat destinations. Spain and China also rated poorly, ranking 12th and
11th, respectively, while Australia featured 10th in the survey, despite
scoring high on levels of luxury, ability to earn and save and
accommodation as it scored low for longevity |
