Uninor dials for restructuring,to scale down operations in four circles

This will place the company in a stronger financial and operational position to enter the auctions,rules permitting.

In a major restructuring drive,Uninor,in which Norwegian firm Telenor holds over 67 per cent stake,has decided to scale down operations in four telecom circles Tamil Nadu,Kerala,Karnataka and Orissa and sharpen focus on 9 other areas in view of continuing uncertainty over spectrum auction.

In light of the continuing uncertainty around the auctions,the Uninor management has decided to focus its resources by strengthening nine of its 13 commercially active circles, the company said in a statement. It said it will strengthen operations in UP East,UP West,Bihar and Jharkhand,Kolkata,West Bengal,Andhra Pradesh,Mumbai,Maharashtra and Goa and Gujarat. This will place the company in a stronger financial and operational position to enter the auctions,rules permitting.

Earlier in the day,Telenor said it plans to cut hundreds of jobs in India as part of a cost-cutting drive. By doing this,we believe that we can make Indian unit Uninor self-financing,that means cash-flow break-even,within the end of 2013, chief executive Jon Fredrik Baksaas said. In the previous business plan,this target was the first half of 2015. The firm will lay off 400 employees and the restructuring will also affect 1,600 independent distributors,Telenor said.

Uninor has 6.8 million customers in these four circles and 400 direct employees in India. It said it will evaluate possibilities of relocating some of the employees to other circles and also provide assistance in securing employment outside the company.

ED notice to Uninor on FEMA violation

The Enforcement Directorate ED has issued a notice to telecom firm Uninor seeking a reply to a show cause it had issued earlier on alleged Foreign Exchange Management Act FEMA violations.

ED on July 5 wrote to Uninor saying the company had not replied to its earlier show cause notice and asked for replies within two weeks,sources privy to the development said.

The case relates to late disclosure and clearance sought by Uninor for the second round of investment received from Norwegian firm Telenor,which owns a controlling majority stake in the firm.