RCOM to offload stake in Flag Telecom

MUMBAI: Reliance Communications (RCOM), the country’s second-largest wireless company, will adopt a three-pronged approach to unlock value for its shareholders.

Addressing shareholders, Anil Ambani, chairman, Reliance Communications, said: “We are fully committed to unlocking value, creating value and sharing value.”

RCOM will adopt a three-pronged approach to unlock value for shareholders and will also increase dividend payments to shareholders steadily.

The company is in an advanced stage of selling a minority stake in Reliance Telecom Infrastructure India Ltd, its towers unit, to financial investors.

The company also plans to list the telecom tower unit on the local bourses. In the past four years, it has set up 14,000 towers and targeted 23,000 towers by the end of current calendar year.

“Our shareholders should expect a very pleasant surprise on the value unlocked as we are still under discussion. The valuations unlocked will be a bonanza,” Ambani told cheering shareholders at the third annual general meeting on Tuesday.

Capital assets for passive infrastructure services, including telecom towers and other related equipment have been transferred to.

The present net worth of the company stands at over Rs 4,700 crore, ranking the top 10 companies in India on the parameter.

RCOM will also sell some stake in its Flag undersea cable unit through a private placement or sell in an international listing of shares of the company by year-end.

Even as it proposes to list Flag in an overseas bourse, the company will continue to expand the network to 60 countries from 40 across the world.

The unit, which became profitable for the first time, on Monday acquired Yipes for $300 million and Reliance Technology Ventures Ltd, led by Harshal Shah, has played a key role in this acquisition.

The company will also develop a special economic zone at Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge Centre (DAKC), focused on IT and IT-enabled services.

RCOM plans to spin off its profitable BPO business, leveraging in-house skills and operational capabilities. The BPO has over 7,800 employees providing multi-lingual support in voice and back-office services from multiple locations.

RCOM in-house BPO enjoys unique competencies and demonstrated operational excellence in telecom, BFSI, utilities and entertainment verticals.

The company has more than 1 million retail customers in the United States, the largest for any Indian company across any sector. RCOM has launched virtual international calling and voice content services in the US, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand.

The company is one of the leading providers of international connectivity and data services to telecom operators, content providers and Internet communities.