labels: Reliance Industries, Economy - general
Congress calls meeting of sparring Ambani brothers: report news
12 July 2008

Mumbai: The Congress Party, the main constituent of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA), has called a meeting of the feuding billionaire brothers - Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani – over the latter's plan to merge his telecom firm Reliance Communications Ltd with South Africa's MTN Group.

The move comes ahead of a vote of confidence in Parliament, sources close to the developments said.

Anil Ambani is reported to have met Congress spokesman and external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi on Wednesday. Mukherjee's office and Congress sources, however, denied the meeting.

The meeting was sought by Ahmed Patel, Congress representative from Bharuch in Gujarat and Congress president Sonia Gandhi's political secretary, reports said.

While both MTN and RCom said they had decided to extend their exclusive merger talks until 21 July, a merger is still a long way off, considering the dispute with Reliance Industries and a general lack of clarity on the part of MTN and RCom.

MTN and RCom said on 26 May they were in discussions for a 45-day period, to combine their businesses. The talks were extended till 21 July as the two could not arrive at a deal.

The two Ambani brothers are also locked in a legal battle over the pricing of gas, that is expected to soon flow from Mukesh-controlled KG basin offshore fields in the east coast of India.

Earlier reports said Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh had sought the prime minister's intervention in the Ambani feud.

Samajwadi Party had offered to lend support to the UPA at the crucial no-confidence vote in Parliament, after the ruling alliance lost Left Front support over the Indo-US nuclear deal.


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Congress calls meeting of sparring Ambani brothers: report