Idea Cellular receives Department of Telecom approval to increase FDI limit

MUMBAI: Telecom major Idea Cellular on Monday said that it has received an approval from the Department of Telecom (DoT) to increase the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) limit in the company to 100 per cent.

According to the telecom major, the approval allows it to increase the FDI limit to 100 per cent from the current 67.5 per cent.

"The approval is for total foreign investment up to 100 per cent in Idea Cellular Ltd., and total indirect FDI in its relevant subsidiaries - Aditya Birla Telecom Ltd. and Idea Cellular Infrastructure Services Ltd," the comopany said in a statement.

"The FDI approval is a major milestone in the merger process of Vodafone India with Idea Cellular, and follows other statutory approvals already received from the SEBI, NSE, BSE, CCI and NCLT Mumbai and NCLT Ahmedabad."

As per the statement, the merger of Vodafone India with Idea Cellular is in "the final leg of regulatory approvals and is expected to complete in H1CY18, subject to the final approval from the DoT".