In a deal that gives it indirect entrance into the high-growth Indian Telecom market, Saudi Arabia's largest carrier Saudi Telecom Co. has bought a 25-percent piece of Malaysia's Maxis Communications for $3 billion.
As a result of this purchase, Saudi Telecom Co. will own 18.5 percent of GSM carrier Aircel, which is 74-percent owned by Aircel. Aircel provides services in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Orissa, Jammu & Kashmir, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh and the North-East. It has a subscriber base of 5.5 million.
Saudi Telecom reportedly had been considering India for some time, this purchase is the first major investment outside Saudi Arabia for the government-owned carrier. "
Officials in the Middle Eastern country apparently have the same concerns over a national telco having ties with foreign carriers, but it looks like those concerns weren't enough to kill the deal. The deal may raise eyebrows of security concerns in India. I will be posting the developments on the blog
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