A Bharti Airtel office building is pictured in Gurugram. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

File photo of Bharti Airtel Vice-Chairman and MD Gopal Vittal
| Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

Image used for representative purpose only.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

 Bharti Global, the international investment arm of Bharti Enterprises, will buy a 9.99% stake in BT Group from Patrick Drahi’s Altice immediately. Photo: X/@BTGroup

Bharti Global, the international investment arm of Bharti Enterprises, has completed the acquisition of 24.5% of the issued share capital of BT Group plc from Altice UK.

In a statement, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chair of Bharti Enterprises said Bharti has long recognised the enormous potential of the business, as the telecom stalwart expressed his delight at completion of the transaction.

“We’re delighted to have completed our investment into BT. Bharti has long recognised the enormous potential of the business. BT’s renewed focus on optimisation, strengthening networks and driving consumer growth makes it well placed to consolidate its position as a leading global telecom company that delivers long-term value for investors,” Mittal said.

In August this year, Mr. Mittal’s conglomerate had announced it will buy 24.5% stake in BT Group for about $4 billion to become the single largest shareholder in Britain’s biggest broadband and mobile company.

Bharti Global, the international investment arm of Bharti Enterprises, will buy a 9.99% stake in BT Group from Patrick Drahi’s Altice immediately and purchase the remainder after it secures the necessary regulatory approvals, the firm had said in a statement back then.

Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty settled lower for the sixth straight session on Monday (October 7, 2024) due to heavy selling in bellwether stocks including HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries amid mixed trends in the global markets and outflow of foreign funds.

Falling for the sixth consecutive session, the BSE Sensex tumbled 638.45 points or 0.78% to settle at 81,050. During the day, it plummeted 962.39 points or 1.17% to 80,726.06.

The NSE Nifty slumped 218.85 points or 0.87% to end at 24,795.75.

From the 30 Sensex firms, Adani Ports & Special Economic Zones, NTPC, State Bank of India, PowerGrid, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Titan and UltraTech Cement were the major laggards.

Mahindra & Mahindra, ITC, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, Bajaj Finance, Tata Consultancy Services and Tech Mahindra defied the trend.

“The Indian markets have entered a consolidation phase with high risk of underperforming to Asian peers. This phase is marked by significant corrections in the broader market due to premium valuations. There is notable global arbitrage activity, with Chinese markets attracting substantial inflows driven by its attractive valuations and stimulus measures,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude surged 2.09% to $79.68 a barrel.

European markets were trading on a mixed note on Monday (October 7, 2024).

In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul settled higher.

Wall Street ended with gains on Friday (October 4, 2024).

Investors are reassessing their portfolio positions and FIIs outflows are exacerbated. Amid escalating geopolitical tensions, the surging oil prices pose a further challenge to the domestic economy in the short term, Mr. Nair added.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹9,896.95 crore on Friday (October 4, 2024), while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹8,905.08 crore, according to exchange data.

On Friday (October 4, 2024), the BSE Sensex tumbled 808.65 points to settle at a three-week low of 81,688.45, while NSE Nifty slumped 235.50 points to 25,014.60.

Last week, the BSE Sensex tanked 3,883.4 points, or 4.53%, and the Nifty slumped 1,164.35 points or 4.44%.

After telecom operators, Scindia met telecom equipment makers including Dixon Technologies, Nokia, Ericsson, Sterlite Technologies and VVDN [File]
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Telecom operators in a meeting with Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia expressed concerns over regulator Trai excluding messaging and calling apps like WhatsApp and Telegram in its recommendation on new licensing rules, sources aware of the development said.

Operators also discussed issues concerning adjusted gross revenue payments, they added.

The meeting was attended by Reliance Jio Chairman Akash Ambani, Vodafone Idea CEO Akshaya Moondra, Bharti Airtel MD and CEO Gopal Vittal and BSNL Chairman and Managing Director Robert J Ravi.

“All telecom operators expressed concern over the exclusion of over-the-top apps by Trai in its recommendation on Service Authorisation. Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel raised the issue of adjusted gross revenue,” a source said.

Telecom operators have been demanding for a long time to bring calling and messaging apps, called as OTTs, under the ambit of telecom licences as they provide calling and messaging services like any telecom operator.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) did not heed to the demand of telecom operators and kept the apps out of its recommendation on the new licensing rules under the Telecommunications Act 2023.

Vodafone Idea (VIL) shared its concern on the impact of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) issue on the health of the sector, which was also supported by Bharti Airtel.

Last week, the Supreme Court rejected the VIL curative petition on the grounds that it did not meet the criteria for the petition.

VIL has an AGR liability of ₹70,320 crore and Bharti Airtel has about ₹21,500 crore.

Scindia during the meeting discussed the menace of pesky calls and SMS.

“The operators have some concern over unsolicited commercial calls which the DoT has taken note of,” the source said.

After telecom operators, Scindia met telecom equipment makers including Dixon Technologies, Nokia, Ericsson, Sterlite Technologies and VVDN.

Exchange Data said that FIIs bought equities worth ₹2,208.23 crore on Tuesday (September 10, 2024). File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Equity benchmark indices declined in early trade on Wednesday (September 11, 2024) after two days of gains amid selling in Tata Motors and weak trends in Asian markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 111.85 points to 81,809.44. The NSE Nifty dipped 39.2 points to 25,001.90.

Among the 30 Sensex firms, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Titan, HDFC Bank, JSW Steel, Tech Mahindra, UltraTech Cement and Axis Bank were the major laggards.

Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel, ITC and Hindustan Unilever were among the gainers.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading lower.

The U.S. markets ended mostly with gains on Tuesday (September 10, 2024).

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth ₹2,208.23 crore on Tuesday (September 10, 2024), according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.59% to $69.60 a barrel.

The BSE benchmark climbed 361.75 points or 0.44% to settle at 81,921.29 on Tuesday (September 11, 2024). The NSE Nifty surged 104.70 points or 0.42% to 25,041.10.

Bharti Airtel at present holds 48.95% stake in Indus Towers.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

“Bharti Airtel will hold over a 50% stake in Indus Towers after completion of the ongoing ₹2,640-crore share buyback scheme of the telecom infrastructure firm,” a regulatory filing said on Wednesday (August 28, 2024).

Telecom infrastructure major Indus Towers commenced the buyback of over 5.67 crore shares at ₹465 apiece on August 14, representing approximately 2.107% of total number of equity shares in the paid-up share capital of the company.

“In terms of communication dated August 27, 2024 issued by Indus Towers, the shareholding of the company in Indus Towers will increase to more than 50% (i.e. about 50.005%) of its paid-up share capital, subject to completion of relevant activities within stipulated timelines for the said Buyback”, Bharti Airtel said in a regulatory filing.

Bharti Airtel at present holds 48.95% stake in Indus Towers.

Indus Towers has set August 28 as the last date for completion of settlement of bids by the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

A Bharti Airtel office in Gurugram. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel reported more than 2.5 times jump in its consolidated profit to ₹ 4,160 crore in the first quarter ended on June 30, 2024, compared to the year-ago period.

The company posted a profit of ₹ 1,612.5 crore in the same period a year ago.

The consolidated revenue from operations of Bharti Airtel increased by 2.8% to ₹ 38,506.4 crore during the reported quarter from ₹ 37,440 crore in the June quarter of the last year.

Bharti Airtel’s India revenue increased by 10.1% to ₹ 29,046 crore on a year-over-year (Y-o-Y) basis.

Mobile average revenue per user (ARPU), a key matrix to determine telecom operators growth, of Bharti Airtel in India increased to ₹ 211 during the reported compared to ₹ 200 in the same period a year ago.

Bharti Hexacom net profit more than doubles to ₹ 511 cr in June quarter

Telecom operator Bharti Hexacom, which operates under the Airtel brand, reported over two-fold jump in its profit to ₹ 511.2 crore in the first quarter ended on June 30, 2024, compared to ₹ 253.2 crore in the same period a year ago.

Total revenues of Bharti Hexacom increased by 14% on a year-over-year basis to ₹ 1,910.6 crore during the reported quarter from ₹ 1,681.7 crore a year ago.

Mobile revenues grew by 12.9% Y-o-Y on the back of improved realisation and sustained customer additions.

The Average revenue per user (ARPU), a key matrix to determine telecom operators’ growth, for the quarter increased to ₹ 205 from ₹ 194 a year ago driven by continued mix improvement and focus on quality acquisitions.

“We added 2.8 million smartphone customers to our network over last year, an increase of 16.3% YoY. We continue to deliver industry-leading ARPU along with growing average data usage per customer at 25.7 GB per month. We rolled out 268 network towers and 665 mobile broadband base stations in the quarter to further strengthen our coverage and provide seamless connectivity,” the company said in a statement.

The Congress on July 5 questioned how three leading mobile service providers in India were allowed to hike their tariff unilaterally, without any oversight and regulation. 
| Photo Credit: K.V.S. Giri

The Congress on July 5 questioned how three leading mobile service providers in India were allowed to hike their tariff unilaterally, without any oversight and regulation.

Addressing a press conference, Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala slammed the Narendra Modi government for allowing the telecom companies to “fleece” 109 crore mobile phone users. He called it an example of “crony capitalism” thriving under the Modi government, which had “sanctioned profiteering” by private telecom companies.

“Effective July 3, three private cell phone companies, Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, have increased their tariffs by an average of 15%. The three private cell phone companies had a market share of 91.6%, or 109 crore cell phone users, out of a total of 119 crore cell phone users as on December 31, 2023,” Mr. Surjewala said at a press conference in the party headquarters.

“Two things stand out: firstly, the date of announcement of increase of tariffs, appears to be clearly in consultation with each other. Secondly, the date of effective implementation of increased tariffs is the same,” he added.

The Congress leader cited the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to argue that consumers will have to bear an additional burden of ₹34,824 crore because of the increase in tariffs.

Mobile service market in India is an oligopoly of Reliance Jio (48 crore cell phone users), Airtel (39 crore users), and Vodafone Idea (22.37 crore users), Mr. Surjewala said.

Giving a break-up of the increase by Reliance Jio, Mr. Surjewala said from July 3, the company has increased its cell phone user charges from 12% to 27% and the average increase is 20%, Mr. Surjewala said.

Similarly, for Airtel, the Congress leader claimed the company has increased its user charges from 11% to 21% with the average increase being 15%. And Vodafone Idea has increased its charges from 10% to 24% with the average increase being 16%, Mr. Surjewala added.

The Congress leader asked if the Modi government and TRAI abdicated their responsibility towards 109 cell phone users by allowing the telecom companies to unilaterally increase tariffs.

“Wasn’t the increase in cell phone prices withheld till the conclusion of the Parliament elections as the Modi government would have been questioned on the justification for burdening 109 crore cell phone users and fleecing them of an extra ₹34,824 crore?” Mr. Surjewala asked.