India's M&A rules fair and speedy, says Vodafone's Vittorio Colao

Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao has said that India's mergers and acquisitions rules are well-defined, which lead to speedy implementation.

“Simplicity and transparency are key to the reforms introduced and this has been recognised by the significant improvement in India’s position in the Ease of Doing Business global rankings. The swift progress we have made in just under a year towards the completion of our merger with Idea Cellular is testimony to this fresh approach. India has a clear set of well-defined M&A rules and we are seeing their fair and speedy implementation”, said Colao.

Vodafone and Idea have entered into a 23 billion dollars merger deal to create the largest telecom entity in the country.

He also praised the Indian Government for improvement in ease of doing business in the country during the last four years.

While speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, he said: “Digital India and Make in India are transformational initiatives. The focus of Prime Minister Modi’s government and India’s new progressive policy framework are ensuring their successful execution. India’s enhanced economic liberalisation will bring more international investment into its growing economy, which will in turn generate exciting opportunities and boost job creation.”

Within the telecom sector specifically, Colao said “India has significantly increased the amount of spectrum which is now available to operators. The proposed increase in spectrum caps will further hasten the roll out of networks to the benefit of customers, government and industry.”