Page 34 - Sphere No.13 (Dec 2004)

presence in the high-value metropoli-
tan circles. It is No.1 in Mumbai,
Calcutta, and Gujarat, and No.2 in
Delhi in terms of subscriber numbers,
and the company is also ahead of its
competitors when it comes to average
revenue per user (ARPU).
Over the past few years, the India
market has been developed through
a combination of capital investment
and acquisitions. Hutchison Telecom
plans a further listing in the future to
consolidate its India operations.
“The India business will be listed
at some stage, subject to the right mar-
ket and commercial conditions, and
meeting pre-listing requirements,”
Pennington confirms.
The India listing is further to
Hutchison Telecom’s
agreement with its local
partners to do so, and
it would also
make it easier
for the India
operation to
tap into local
financing to drive
its expansion.
Two companies that fall under the
Hutchison Telecom umbrella are
already independently listed: Partner
Communications (Partner) and
Hutchison Global Communications
Holdings (HGCH).
Partner completed the largest ever
IPO by an Israeli company when it
listed on the NASDAQ and London
Stock Exchange in October 1999 and
on the Tel Aviv Stock Market the
following year. In just four years,
Partner overtook one incumbent oper-
ator to become No.2 in the market.
Earlier this year Hong Kong-based
fixed line fibre-optic broadband service
provider HGC merged with local
companies Powercom and Vanda,
a company listed on the Hong Kong
Stock Exchange, which was subse-
quently renamed Hutchison Global
Communications Holdings.
“These types of arrangement are
typical in telecoms where joint ven-
tures with local operators or investors
are commonplace, and remains
a valuable strategy and technique to
establish value of the business and
add capital,” says Pennington.
“For the external investor, there
are different opportunities to access
the value created by Hutchison,”
Pennington adds. “With HGCH,
investors gain exposure to the Hong
Kong fixed-line market. With
Hutchison Telecom, you are buying an
investment in eight markets, with both
fast-growth and established businesses.
While Hutchison Telecom does not
expect to pay a dividend in the short
term, its management believes that
the long-term prospects for growth
are encouraging.
“Hutchison has developed this
business over the past 10-20 years,”
says Pennington. “We see some
SPHERE 32
1997
Forms Partner
Communications
Company Ltd in
Israel
Acquires 100%
interest in Lanka,
Sri Lanka
1998
First in Asia to
offer GSM
Dualband telecom-
munication service
under the brand
name “Orange”
Acquires 80%
interest in Kasapa
(formerly Celltel
Limited) in Ghana
1999
Partner
introduces Israel’s
first GSM network
under the Orange
brand and
completes IPO
2000
NTT DoCoMo
acquires 19%
strategic equity
interest in Hong
Kong mobile
operations
Acquires Delhi
operations and
enters Calcutta
and Gujarat
markets in India
Entry into
Thailand
Global Crossing
becomes 50%
partner in HK
fixed line
operations
Acquires 100% of
the equity of
Hutchison
Paraguay
C O R P O R A T E