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Gulf Based Zamil Picks Up 51% Stake In Telecom Tower Venture

By Madhav A Chanchani

  • 10 Nov 2008

Zamil Industrial Investment Company (ZIIC), a Gulf-based manufacturing and fabrication company, has picked up a 51% stake in its joint venture with telecom infrastructure provider New Delhi Tele-Towers Pvt Ltd. The venture will be called Zamil New Delhi Infrastructure Pvt Ltd will focus on the supply of telecom towers, accompanying shelters fitted with the appropriate sandwich panels, customized air conditioning equipment and power interface units. The authorised capital of the new company is $20 million.

Gulf countries seems to be bullish on India's telecom market. In another telecom deal recently, UAE's telecom giant Emirates Telecommunications Corp has bought 45% of Swan Telecom for $900 million.

ZIIC already has two fully owned companies in India - Zamil Steel Buildings India and Zamil Steel Engineering India. The new entity, Zamil New Delhi Infrastructure, is expected to have revenues of $300 million by the fifth year of operation.

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This venture comes as Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh is presently touring the Gulf, asking countries to invest in India's infrastructure. As the economy has started slowing down, and investors from US and Europe have started pulling out their money, cash rich Gulf  states infuse money into Indian economy. Singh has already announced India Oman Joint Investment Fund (IOJIF) with a seed capital of $100 million, and the option to go up to $1.5 billion. Another fund expected to be launched is a $5-billion Joint Infrastructure Fund to be raised between India and Qatar.

Investors from Gulf have already been pretty active investors in India's real estate and infrastructure market. In October 2007 Gulf Finance House committed $630 million for Energy City India, an infrastructure project being set up in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra. In March this year, Abu Dhabi Investment House (ADIH) also announced the launch of India Entertainment City (IEC) fund, which would be financed through a $400 million Sharia-compliant fund. 

Bahrain-based Khaleeji Commercial Bank has also formed a fund with targeted capital of $430 million to invest in India's first integrated logistics city project on a 400-acre site in Navi Mumbai. IndusInd Bank is also planning to raise a $1 billion fund to invest in infrastructure and real estate primarily from Gulf investors.

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