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"We are very pleased with the progress that has been made by S Tel preparing to operate in India, one of the biggest, most competitive and the fastest growing mobile markets in the world,"
Mr. Kaliaropoulos said.
"Having completed its investment in S Tel, which will be launching its services in November, Batelco is continuing to look at investment opportunities in Africa and Asia with the objective of extending its presence across these geographies," he continued.
"Whilst there are challenges managing a rapidly growing and diverse footprint in the Middle East and now India, we believe that companies such as Batelco that have repeatedly demonstrated excellence in execution will continue to grow successfully," he added.
Batelco announced earlier this year that the Group was investing $175m for a 42.7% shareholding in STel Limited (S Tel). S Tel has licenses to operate in 6 Indian states - Bihar, Orissa, Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), Himachal Pradesh, North East and Assam (NESA).
S Tel was established to gain entry into the rapidly growing mobile markets of North East and North West India. With the population in these areas around the 230 million mark and mobile penetration lower than 25%, S Tel's aspiration with Batelco's support is to grow rapidly, in response to the needs of these largely untapped areas, by focusing on delivering innovation and value.
Mr. Kaliaropoulos added that Batelco plans to continue its regional expansion drive through targeted acquisitions of other operators and licences in MEA, India and Asia Pacific, while maintaining its market leadership in Bahrain, striving always to deliver better value and innovation for its customers.
Batelco, the leading integrated telecommunications company in Bahrain has operations in 7 markets across the Middle East, North Africa and Asia. At the end of Quarter 3 2009, it announced revenues of $679.5m and a year to date profit of $210.9m.
Posted by Rana Mesbah
