Google to invest $1 bn in India's number two mobile operator / Photo: ©
-
Saudi crown prince says no Israel ties without Palestinian state
-
Canada to further cut international student, foreign worker permits
-
YouTube launches new TV-focused tools for creators
-
White Sox heading for worst season in MLB history
-
China the top challenge in US history: senior diplomat
-
Hong Kong democracy tycoon's son warns time running out
-
New migraine drugs no better than cheap painkillers: big study
-
Sean 'Diddy' Combs again denied bail in sex trafficking case
-
Brewers clinch division title as MLB playoff race heats up
-
Man City blunted by 'giant' Inter in Champions League stalemate
-
US stocks dip despite larger Fed interest rate cut
-
Man City held by Inter as PSG pinch win in Champions League
-
All Blacks recall Beauden Barrett for Australia Test
-
Fears of all-out war as new Lebanon device blasts kill 20, wound 450
-
Spurs late show saves Postecoglou blushes at Coventry
-
PSG snatch late goal to beat Champions League debutants Girona
-
Gittens' late double gives Dortmund Champions League win at Brugge
-
Man City blunted by Inter in Champions League stalemate
-
Hidden talent: French Olympic star Marchand opts for disguise
-
MrBeast named in California lawsuit over 'Beast Games' show
-
Gauff splits with Gilbert as coach after 14-month run
-
Hundreds of thousands at risk in Sudan's El-Fasher: UN
-
Harvey Weinstein pleads not guilty to new sex crime charge
-
Venezuelan opposition candidate says letter conceding election was coerced
-
Ukraine official claims Russian advance in Kursk has been 'stopped'
-
X update allows app to bypass Brazil ban: internet providers
-
Fears of all-out war as new Lebanon device blasts kill 14, wound 450
-
US Fed makes aggressive rate cut, weeks before election
-
Arsenal's Odegaard faces lengthy injury absence
-
India coal expansion risks massive methane growth: report
-
China the top challenge in US history, top diplomat says
-
US Fed makes larger half-point cut in first reduction since 2020
-
Ronaldo's Al Nassr appoint former AC Milan boss Pioli
-
Ainslie 'relieved' as British book place in Louis Vuitton Cup final
-
Struggling Roma replace sacked icon De Rossi with Ivan Juric
-
Women's NBA will add 15th team in Portland in 2026
-
Brazil fires need harsher punishment: environmental police boss
-
Boeing to start large temporary furloughs amid Seattle strike
-
Fears of all-out war as new Lebanon device blasts kill nine, wound 300
-
'Emergency' declared over falling UK butterfly numbers
-
McIlroy outlines threats to golf peace deal
-
Stock markets, dollar slip before US rate decision
-
Russian advance in Kursk 'stopped': Ukraine official to AFP
-
UN members demand end to 'unlawful' Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories
-
Snapchat pushes 'safer' platform image, but not everyone agrees
-
Three dead, 100 wounded in new wave of Lebanon device explosions
-
So where does the oceans' plastic waste come from?
-
Allied war heroes buried in Netherlands... 80 years on
-
Marsh coy over Australia's choice to open alongside Head
-
New London sculpture pays tribute to trans community
NYSE - LSE
| RBGPF | 5.79% | 60.5 | $ | |
| GSK | -0.31% | 42.43 | $ | |
| CMSC | 0.02% | 25.055 | $ | |
| VOD | 0.49% | 10.23 | $ | |
| NGG | -0.46% | 70.05 | $ | |
| SCS | 0.71% | 14.11 | $ | |
| BTI | -0.34% | 37.88 | $ | |
| AZN | 0.06% | 78.58 | $ | |
| RYCEF | 1.37% | 6.55 | $ | |
| RIO | -0.02% | 62.91 | $ | |
| RELX | -0.82% | 47.37 | $ | |
| BCC | 1.33% | 137.06 | $ | |
| BCE | 3.09% | 35.61 | $ | |
| JRI | 0.45% | 13.44 | $ | |
| BP | -0.37% | 32.43 | $ | |
| CMSD | -0.12% | 24.98 | $ |
Google to invest $1 bn in India's number two mobile operator
Google will invest up to $1 billion in India's second-largest mobile operator, Airtel, the companies said Friday, as the Android-maker looks to bolster its presence in the vast nation's booming telecoms market.
The global tech giant will buy a $700 million stake in billionaire Sunil Mittal's Bharti Airtel, giving it 1.28 percent ownership, the firms said in a joint statement.
Up to $300 million more will be invested in "mutually agreeable" commercial projects over the next five years, including exploring opportunities to "bring down the barriers of owning a smartphone" in the price-conscious market.
"We are proud to partner on a shared vision for expanding connectivity and ensuring equitable access to the internet for more Indians," Sundar Pichai, the Indian-born chief executive of Google parent Alphabet said in a statement.
Google already holds a 7.7-percent stake in Indian market leader Reliance Jio, owned by Asia's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, following a $4.5-billion investment in 2020.
The two companies collaborated on a 4G-enabled, low-cost smartphone that launched in November last year.
Jio has been locked in fierce competition with Airtel and British telecoms giant Vodafone's local unit Vi since it kicked off a price war in 2016 by offering dirt-cheap internet and free calls.
H.Seidel--BTB