Reliance Communications to list Flag Telecom globally

Reliance Communications today approved the global listing of its undersea cable business unit Flag Telecom. It had earlier indicated that Flag could be listed on the London Stock Exchange to raise over $500 million by diluting 20 to 24 per cent.

The Anil Ambani Group company says it will the preparation for the listing would start next month.

Flag telecom provides network infrastructure and data services to telecom operators and content providers across the world.

Anil Ambani had last month unveiled a $1.5-billion investment plan in Flag, designed to increase its network by 43 per cent to 115,000 km and add extra capacity for voice calls, internet and multimedia services amid rising global demand.

The expansion will extend India`s largest internet protocol network to destinations in South East Asia, Africa, the Mediterranean and the Pacific, including links between Japan, China and the US west coast.

The fibre-optic cable would eventually reach 60 countries and connect 5 billion global customers.