What does Telstra bring?
Apart from throwing cash at the deal, Telstra brings very little. The announcement was coy, saying only that “Telstra’s mobile and wireless infrastructure and assets that are located outside Australia” would be included in the “Regional Mobile Company” (RMC). In fact, Telstra’s annual report (30-Jun-99) reveals that there were stakes in just two small mobile businesses. One of these is a 49% interest in Modi Telstra Ltd, which was effectively 25% owned by Distacom (major shareholder of HK-listed Sunday) and 26% owned by Indian conglomerate Modicorp (the latter two stakes being jointly held to give Indian control). However, sources tell Webb-site.com that Telstra is in the process of selling its stake to the other shareholders, leaving it as a 51:49 Modicorp:Distacom joint venture. The operation (known as Mobile Net) had around 35,000 subscribers at the end of the 3rd quarter of 1999. The remaining Asian mobile asset of Telstra is a 60% interest in Mobitel of Sri Lanka. The other 40% is
