Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao on Wednesday said he is leaning toward an IPO of the U.K.-based telco’s Indian unit.
"I cannot give you a date, I can tell you that we are positively inclined to an IPO, and we have started some preparatory work," he said at a press briefing broadcast by T V-18.
He emphasised that the final decision will be influenced heavily by prevailing market conditions.
In addition to discussing the possible IPO, Colao also talked spectrum policy, praising the Indian government’s recent decision to introduce spectrum trading and sharing.
When it comes to frequency auctions though, he urged regulators to take a long term view and not to focus too much on generating revenue for the government.
"India has maximised a lot of revenues out of spectrum auctions," Colao said. "It’s too expensive…in my job I always have to say spectrum is too expensive."
However, he insisted that auctions remain the best way to sell spectrum, and acknowledged that regulators have a difficult job in identifying and allocating spectrum, and price it in such a way that operators have enough money left over to invest in networks and affordable services.
When it comes to investment, Vodafone has so far spent 800 billion rupees (€10.8 billion) in India since its 2007 acquisition of Hutchison Essar, and its annual capex currently stands at INR85 billion.
"We are happy with what we are seeing [in India]," Colao said. "India is clearly one of the five big pillars for Vodafone in the world."
