Telecom sector buzzes past $100 billion

Amidst all this high-decibel noise over Hutch sell off, what misses the attention is the fact that the turbo-charged Indian telecom sector has crossed $100 billion (Rs 4.5 lakh crore) in valuation. For an industry which was insignificant barely 13 years ago, valuation that approximates to 13% of India’s GDP reads like a value creation story written in gold. And this is amply borne out by the soaring valuations of the companies, both listed and yet-to-be listed.

Listed companies like Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications boast of a valuation in the range of $ 26-27 billion and $19-20 billion, respectively. And analysts have put a whopping valuation for yet-to-be listed biggies like, BSNL and Idea. While estimates for Idea is in the range of $ 8-9 billion, analysts say, thriving wireline business which is low on subscriber churn could give BSNL a valuation of over $ 30 billion.

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