Vodafone-Idea complete merger, create India’s largest mobile operator Vodafone Idea Ltd will have an all-India revenue market share of 32.2% and will overtake Bharti Airtel as India’s largest cellphone operator

Kumar Mangalam Birla will be the chairman of the merged entity Vodafone Idea Ltd. Photo: Abhijit Bhatlekar/Mint

New Delhi: The merger of Idea Cellular and Vodafone India has been completed, creating India’s biggest telecom service provider with over 408 million subscribers, the two companies said today. A new board has been constituted for the merged entity “Vodafone Idea Ltd’ with 12 directors, including six independent directors, and Kumar Mangalam Birla as its Chairman. The board has appointed Balesh Sharma as the CEO, the companies said in a joint statement.

The combination will have an all-India revenue market share of 32.% and take the top slot in nine telecom circles, it said adding that both the Vodafone and Idea brands will continue. The telecom giant will topple Bharti Airtel from its pole position, and will have the firepower to take on competition in the Indian telecom market, which has intensified with the aggressive entry of Reliance Jio.

The combined entity will have a broadband network of 3.4 lakh sites and distribution network with 17 lakh retail outlets.

“The merger is expected to generate Rs 14,000 crore annual synergy, including opex synergies of Rs 8,400 crore, equivalent to a net present value of approximately Rs 70,000 crore,” the statement said. The net debt of the company stood at Rs 1,09,200 crore on June 30, 2018.

“The equity infusion of Rs 6,750 crore at Idea and Rs 8,600 crore at Vodafone, coupled with monetisation of standalone towers of both companies for an enterprise value of Rs 7,850 crore, provides the company a strong cash balance of over Rs 19,300 crore post payout of Rs 3,900 crore to the Department of Telecom (DoT),” the statement said.

Moreover, it added, the company has an option to monetise over 11% stake in Indus (the tower company), amounting to a cash consideration of Rs 5,100 crore.

The combination will have a wide spectrum portfolio of about 1,850 MHz, over 2 lakh mobile sites and about 2.35 lakh kms of fibre. This will allow it to offer “superior voice and broadband connectivity across the country, covering 92% of the population and reaching nearly 5,00,000 towns and villages,” it said.

Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Idea Limited said, “Today, we have created India’s leading telecom operator. It is truly a historic moment...As Vodafone Idea, we are partnering in this initiative by building a formidable company of international repute, scale and standards”.

Balesh Sharma, CEO of the new entity said, “We are committed to offering both our retail and enterprise customers an excellent experience while fulfilling their evolving digital and connectivity needs via new products, services and solutions”.

A regulatory filing by Idea said it will be renamed as Vodafone Idea Ltd, following the completion of all formalities and approvals. Post merger, the paid-up equity share capital of Idea Cellular rises to Rs 8,735.13 crore.

Himanshu Kapania has stepped down from the position of managing director of Idea Cellular with effect from August 31, 2018, but will serve as non-executive director of the new company. Shares of Idea Cellular were trading 6.32% at Rs 53 per share apiece on the BSE.

First Published: Fri, Aug 31 2018. 12 42 PM IST livemint

India opens lead with China in growth sweepstakes At 8.2% growth, it tops China’s 6.7% in the second quarter Last Published: Fri, Aug 31 2018. 06 55 PM IST

India’s $2.6 trillion economy surpassed France’s in 2017 to be the world’s sixth largest, and it was not far before it overtook the UK, according to World Bank data. Photo: Bloomberg

New Delhi: India’s economy sustained strong growth momentum for a second straight quarter in April-June, but the depreciating rupee and monetary tightening pose risks for coming periods.

At 8.2% growth, it tops China’s 6.7% in the second quarter. For the first three months of 2018, India reported 7.7 annual growth, the fastest in nearly two years.

India’s $2.6 trillion economy surpassed France’s in 2017 to be the world’s sixth largest, and it was not far before it overtook the United Kingdom, according to World Bank data.

On Wednesday, India’s central bank said economic growth was expected to accelerate to 7.4% in the current fiscal year that began in April, from 6.7% the previous one, despite risks posed by higher oil prices and global trade tensions.

SUSTAINABLE GAINS?

Sameer Narang, chief economist at Bank of Baroda , said a recent uptick in investments and manufacturing “is likely to sustain as order books have increased on account of infrastructure, affordable housing and exports”. But he said economic growth could cool to about 7.2% in October-March.

The Reserve Bank of India has raised its benchmark repo rate by a total of 50 basis points at its past two meetings, to 6.5% , to tame inflation that has remained above its medium-term target of 4% for the last nine months.

In July, retail inflation eased to 4.17% from a year earlier, but is projected to remain around 4.8% in the second half of the fiscal year.

The rupee has weakened nearly 10% against the dollar this year and is the worst performing currency in Asia.

Credit ratings agency Moody’s has warned about rising pressure of higher oil prices and interest rates on government finances and India’s current account.

Narang of Bank of Baroda said the rupee depreciation “could lead to higher import bills and a fall in consumption of non-oil products,” though he added that a declining rupee would support exports.

First Published: Fri, Aug 31 2018. 05 59 PM IST livemint Manoj kumar Reauters

Emperor's exit resets Japan calendar

Aug 28, 2018, 02.08 PM IST

End of an era

The abdication of Japan's Emperor Akihito next year will be quite literally the end of an era, the Heisei era of his rule, and behind closed doors, talks on the next era have begun.

Japan is the only country in the world still using Chinese-style imperial calendars. It might be 2018 in much of the world, but in Japan it is Heisei 30, or 30 years into Akihito's reign.

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The calendar

While the Gregorian calendar is widely used in Japan, imperial dates feature on government documents, newspapers, and commercial calendars.

"It is easier to imagine what the time was like if you have eras," said Kunio Kowaguchi, president of major calendar maker Todan.

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Start of a new era

Japan has had nearly 250 eras or "gengo" since adopting the system in the 7th century.

In the past, emperors would switch era names mid-reign to make a fresh start after natural disasters or crises.

But more recently, an era has run the entire length of a monarch's rule.

With just months to go before Crown Prince Naruhito ascends the Chrysanthemum Throne in May 2019, speculation about the new name is growing.

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The transition

The new imperial era will be the first since the IT revolution, and the tech sector is also girding for the transition.

It has inspired comparisons to the "Y2K" bug ahead of the year 2000, when experts worried about a tech apocalypse fearing that computers would not understand the new date.

"What is largely different from the time of the Y2K problem or the switch to the Heisei period is that IT is widely used and information is passed around among internet-capable devices," said Kazunori Ishii, a spokesman at Microsoft's Japan arm.

"We can't predict exactly what will happen," he said, though he added that major disruption was "unlikely".

Software used in Japan that converts between Western and imperial dates will need to be updated with the new era, and code and fonts for the new name will also need to be created.

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The preprations

In pic: Shows a worker checking a printed sheet of the 2019 calendar for May at a factory of Japan's major calender maker Todan in the town of Ami, Ibaraki prefecture.

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The complete calender

In pic: This shows a worker checking the completed 2019 calendar at a factory of Japan's major calender maker Todan in Ami Town, Ibaraki prefecture.

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Korea detente revives Kim Jong Un's bullet train dreams

Aug 30, 2018, 12.08 PM IST

​Bullet train dreams

North Korea's ruling family has long dreamed of a state-of-the-art rail system linking its major cities with each other and the wider world.

Now, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is looking to capitalise on an easing in international tensions with his isolated regime to advance plans for a high-speed rail network to rival those in Europe and neighbouring South Korea.

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​Plans

Kim has instructed officials to seek partnerships with countries such as South Korea and France.

Engineers and consultants in South Korea say they are also drawing up plans for possible rail projects with the North.

Both Koreas see new railways as a key that could unlock regional trade and tourism, connecting the Korean peninsula with Russia, China and beyond.

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​Hurdles

Plans face numerous hurdles, not least wide-ranging sanctions on doing business in North Korea over its pursuit of nuclear weapons in defiance of the United Nations, and the country's unstable electricity infrastructure.

In pic: An aerial photo shows the completed railway bridge across Sokjon Bay, part of the completed Koam-Tapchon railway, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency in Pyongyang.

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​Long-held dream for Kim

A month before his death in 1994, Kim's grandfather and founding leader of North Korea, Kim Il Sung, said a railway connecting two Koreas, China and Russia could generate North Korea $1.5 billion annually from transporting commodities. Kim Jong Un publicly expressed admiration for South Korea's railways during a summit in April.

A bullet train system in North Korea could take at least five years to build and cost up to $20 billion.

Kim said a high-speed railway should be built between Pyongyang and a new international airport near the capital. He also has more ambitious plans to build a high-speed railway linking Pyongyang to South Korea and China.

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​Risky, but potential money-spinner

Seoul, too, has seen potential benefits from such a tie-up. In 2015, a state-run railway association estimated trans-Korean railways linking the peninsula to China and Russia could halve the time to transport freight, and generate substantial transit fees for the South.

South Korea is budgeting 504 billion won ($450 million) next year for cross-border economic projects such as the modernisation of North Korea's roads and railways, up 46 percent from this year. It did not provide a breakdown for railways.

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​French connection

A senior North Korean diplomat told the French senate in June the country would like to partner with France on railway construction, specifically naming Alstom, the maker of the iconic TGV bullet train, and French national railway operator SNCF, as potential partners.

South Korea adopted Alstom’s technology for its KTX bullet trains introduced in 2004. The system is about six times faster than the North’s aging rail networks.

But it’s far from clear how infrastructure would be defined under the United Nations sanctions, and the French rail operators told Reuters they had no plans to team up with North Korea.

Aurus Senat: All eyes on Russian President Vladimir Putin's limousine

30 Aug 2018, 01:18 PM IST

​Aurus Senat: New luxury sedan

Russia unveiled a new luxury sedan at a Moscow motor show and also showed off the Russian-built limousine that President Vladimir Putin took for a televised drive during his swearing-in ceremony in May.

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​Four-seater sedan

The Aurus Senat four-seater sedan was presented to reporters as the latest addition to the nascent Cortege range of Russian-made vehicles championed by Putin.

The series is also expected to include a minivan, offroad vehicle and motorcycle.

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​Limousine & Putin

The limousine, also built under the Aurus brand, had its first public outing in May when Putin used it instead of his usual Mercedes at his inauguration for a new presidential term, sending a patriotic message of Russian self-sufficiency.

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Intention

Russia has been trying reduce its dependence on imported goods and technology, a drive that has gathered speed since Russia was hit by Western sanctions.

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​Producer

The Aurus series is produced by a Russian research institute known by the acronym NAMI in partnership with Russian carmaker Sollers.

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​Contracts

Contracts for commercial orders of Aurus cars would be signed from next month.

About 120 Aurus vehicles would be produced next year, adding that the off-road vehicle was expected to enter serial production by the beginning of 2020.

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Aurus CEO & Denis Manturov

The limousine is intended to become the heir to the Russian-made ZIL sedans that for decades transported Soviet leaders.