Hutchison Essar is now officially Vodafone Essar Ltd. The company has got the necessary certificate from the Registrar of Companies to change its name after the UK-based Vodafone acquired majority stake in the company. The approval for company’s operations in West Bengal is yet to come.
Sources in the company said that the approval has to be taken circle wise and the certificate was acquired for all the other circles over the past week.
The move signals the first formal step for Vodafone’s entry into the Indian market. The company has already appointed a new board chaired by Ravi Ruia, Vice-Chairman of Essar Group and Arun Sarin, CEO, Vodafone Plc, as the Vice-Chairman of the Indian mobile venture.
Vodafone is now expected to phase out the Hutch brand over the next few months. The company has already started using the Vodafone Essar Ltd name in all its official communication with the telecom regulator and the Government authorities.
The company will also launch its low cost Vodafone branded handsets in India later this year. Earlier Vodafone had said that it would be investing nearly $2 billion in the first year to upgrade Hutch’s existing network.
Tags: essar, hutchison, vodafone, vodafone essar