Tata signs agreement with CEC to acquire 50 percent equity interest

New Delhi: Tata Communications International Pte Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Communications Limited, has signed an equity joint venture agreement (EJV) with the shareholders of China Enterprise Communications Limited (CEC) for the acquisition of 50 percent equity interest in CEC. It is said that this joint venture, which will become effective after the necessary approvals from the relevant government and regulatory bodies in China are obtained, will be the first-of-its-kind in the Chinese telecom sector
post China's entering the WTO.

Zhu Jianhua, president & CEO of CEC, said, "The strategic cooperation between CEC and Tata was carried out under the background of economic globalization, and the fact that China and India are driving the 21st century world economy. Through the cooperation with Tata, we will focus on the development of the domestic market to provide high quality networking service to multinational enterprises in China as well as China's domestic enterprises. We intend to grow the strength of the China Enterprise Communications brand."

Vinod Kumar, president, data and mobility services, Tata Communications, stated, "Tata is honored to have this unique opportunity to establish an EJV with the shareholders of CEC and to become one of the first global telecom companies to attain this type of access to the Chinese market. Tata Communications understands and respects the complex, fast-changing and extremely competitive Chinese telecom environment and the needs of customers requiring seamless end-to-end connectivity. This is an innovative step in our ongoing effort to enable connectivity and managed services across strategic regions and emerging markets that are of high value to our global customers."

Tata Communications