labels: economy - general
Some foreign companies on security black listnews
17 February 2007

New Delhi: The National Security Council has highlighted the need to block the entry of some foreign companies in the country's sensitive infrastructure sectors. This comes after National Security Advisor M K Narayanan's revelations regarding terrorists' manipulation of stock markets in India.

A report of NSC has said that such companies, unless checked, could gain access to the country's vital information and communication technology assets. In this context, the report cited the case of Egyptian mobile telecom company Orasscom which it said, "...has the potential to be on the board of one of India's major telecom companies Hutch-Essar" (whose major stake has now been taken over by British telecom giant Vodafone).

Orasscom had reportedly been in the running initially for a controlling stake in the Hutch-Essar. The report also said Orasscom received investment from the late Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization, and is the biggest telecom operator in Pakistan. with a large presence in Bangladesh.

The NSC report said the presence of the Egyptian company in India would not be in national interest as the entity could gain access to "our ICT assets and enhance the capabilities of our adversaries in gathering intelligence.

Other overseas companies identified by the NSC were Huawei of China and Dubai Ports World, which recently had its access to US ports blocked by that country. An aviation company, which has its stake in an Indian private low-cost carrier, also figures on the list.

 


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Some foreign companies on security black list