Bharati Airtel continues upward rally

Bharati Airtel, which is leading the consolidation in the Indian telecom industry, continued to remain in focus on Monday. The stock of Bharati Airtel was trading at Rs. 448.05, higher by 16.45 points or 3.81% at 13:40 IST on Monday. The stock opened at Rs. 435.50 and registered intraday high of Rs. 449.80 and low of Rs. 433.00.

The reason for the surge can be attributed to the company's deal with Millicom, to combine their operations in Ghana. Under the joint agreement, Airtel and Millicom will have equal ownership (50:50) and governance rights in the combined entity. The revenue from this entity is expected to be at USD 300 million, the company said in a filing to the exchanges.

Last week, the company said that it would take over the consumer mobile business of Tata Teleservices. The deal will help the company gain in terms of subscriber base as well as widen its spectrum portfolio. It will also better place the company against rival Jio as it will give Airtel access to 60,000 km of fibre network owned by the Tata group.

Various brokerages and credit rating firms have revised their rating for Bharati Airtel. In the light of Idea-Vodafone merger and Jio's push to dominate the Indian telecom space, the sector is a poised for intense competition, going forward.