Telecom and finance leaders are meeting in Mumbai on October 18 to address industry investment needs of US$40bn at the TMT Finance and Investment India Conference.

The conference, which opens with a keynote address from R. Chandrashekhar, Secretary, Department of Telecommunications and Head of the Telecom Commission, will feature a series of leadership panel discussions on critical areas related to financing and growth for mobile and fixed telecoms and broadband across India.

Chief executives from Reliance Communications, MTS India, Tata Communications and Telenor India will take part in the opening panel session, the Telecom Leadership Round Table, which is chaired by Booz & Company. Following sessions will feature leaders from Bharti Infratel, State Bank of India (SBI), Quippo, Apax, ATC, Uninor, Axiata, IDFC, the World Bank, DBS Group, ANZ Banking Group, Citigroup, Standard Chartered and others.

“Telecom is one of the most spectacular success stories of the Indian economy. The industry is now poised to transition to the next stage of growth, ushering in digitization of the economy, which is both a social and a national competitive necessity. This requires investments in excess of US$40bn,” said Ashish Sharma, Director and Head of Telecoms India, Booz & Company, who will be chairing the opening panel. “The TMT Finance India conference is a timely platform to forge a new partnership amongst industry, government and other stakeholders on making the industry structurally attractive for fresh investments.”

Discussion themes for the Telecom Leadership Round table are, How will telecom policy affect growth in India over the next five years? Where are the opportunities for investment and M&A in India and internationally?  Which business models, technologies and services will drive growth? Where are the opportunities for joint ventures and partnerships?

Other key panel discussions for the conference are The M&A Panel, Who will lead consolidation? Spectrum and Policy, What impact on the telecom landscape? Telecom CFO Round Table, Establishing new paths to operational efficiency; Financing Telecoms, How, where and when to raise capital and the Mobile Infrastructure Leaders Panel, Who will lead growth of India’s tower industry?
 
TMT Finance & Investment India takes place at the Four Seasons Hotel in Mumbai on October 18 and is supported by Herbert Smith, Analysys Mason, Ernst & Young, Booz & Company, MSL Group Asia and EM Finance Consulting.