The board of state-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) has approved the setting up of MTNL, Mauritius, with an initial equity base of Rs 100 crore.
The new company, which will be formally registered in a few weeks, will provide basic and international long distance (ILD) services in Mauritius. MTNL has outlined an investment of Rs 1,000 crore for its overseas operations.
MTNL’s CMD Narendra Sharma did not rule out the possibility of MTNL, Mauritius, being the holding company for the company’s overseas operations. MTNL is in the process of finalising the licensing procedure with Telecommunications Consultants of India Ltd (TCIL) for the Kenyan market apart from entering the Malawi market. ‘‘We already have a joint venture with TCIL, VSNL for Nepal to provide limited mobility services, which we expect to commence next week,’’ he said.