Essar Telecom in talks with investors to fund Kenya operations

NEW DELHI: Essar Telecom Kenya, which operates under the Yu Mobile brand in the African country, said on Monday that it was in talks with investors to fund its plans of expanding 3G presence. The company, in which Essar Group promoters own about 72% stake, is planning to firm up investments by the beginning of 2014.

"YuMobile is committed to expand its network across the country and enhance existing network capacity to meet growing subscriber demand. It has also applied for 3G operating licence in Kenya. To finance this expansion, it is in discussions with strategic investors for further investments in the company," CEO Madhur Taneja said in an emailed statement. The group, which has interests from ports to steel to oil & gas to realty, on Monday also denied media reports that it plans to sell its Kenyan telecom operations to an Indian service provider.