NEW DELHI: Reliance Communications Chairman Anil Ambani on Monday welcomed Vodafone to India, after the UK giant emerged the top bidder for Hutch-Essar with a 18.8 billion dollar bid.
"We congratulate Vodafone and welcome them to India. Vodafone's participation is a further endorsement of the exciting future growth potential, and the progressive policies, prevailing in the Indian telecom sector," Reliance Communications Chairman Anil D Ambani said in a statement.
On his company's bid, Ambani said: "Reliance's bid was made in line with our publicly declared and consistent philosophy of sustainable value creation, and financial conservatism, in the face of truly challenging acquisition valuations."
A consortium led by NRI business group Hindujas and Essar, were the other bidders in the fray for India's fourth largest telecom operator Hutch-Essar.
Meanwhile, Ambani announced that his company would maintain substantial financial strength and flexibility, while investing a record capex of Rs 11,000 crore ($2.5 billion) in the coming financial year.