Tata-owned Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) has received
in-principle approval from the Board of Investment
as also the Telecom Regulatory Authority of Sri
Lanka (TRAS) for the formation of a public limited
company.
To be based in Sri Lanka, this company will be called
"VSNL Lanka Ltd." In a communique to the Bombay
Stock Exchange (BSE), VSNL has said VSNL Lanka after
formation, will apply for and implement a license for
undertaking international telecommunication activities in Sri
Lanka.
VSNL has informed BSE that 388 employees have opted for its
voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) by May 31, 2003. These
employees have been relieved from the services of the company.
The scheme will close on July 14, 2003. The company had
offered VRS to employees with 10 years of service and 40 years
or more in age. Apart from this, VSNL had also said that
employees should have a minimum of three months of service
remaining. At this stage, the company has around 2700
employees.
According to the communique, the VSNL board at its meeting
held on May 29, 2003, decided to seek approval of its
shareholders at the annual general meeting (AGM) to delist
VSNL shares from the Stock Exchange of Chennai, Delhi and
Kolkata.
At the meeting, the VSNL board approved that VSNL Seamless
Services Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of VSNL be voluntarily
dissolved. "VSSL was incorporated in 1998 as a vehicle to
hive off certain value added services, but did not actually
get engaged in any business activities till date," the
note to BSE said.
The Tatas acquired a 25 percent stake in VSNL from the
government at Rs 202 per share which was followed by the
mandatory 20 percent open offer. Overall, the total cost of
this transaction was around
Rs 2,500 crore.
VSNL’s largest chunk of revenue comes from the provision
of international long distance (ILD) services
which account for around 80 percent of the company’s
revenue.
The company also has a license to provide national long
distance (NLD) services and is a leading Internet service
provider in the country.
