Bharti Airtel, India's top mobile phone carrier, is not likely to launch an initial public offer for its tower unit in the current financial year that ends in March, a top executive said on Friday.
"There are no immediate plans but on a long term basis I have always said these companies should, at an appropriate time go and get listed," Akhil Gupta, deputy group CEO at the mobile operator's parent and a director on Bharti Airtel's board, told reporters.
"I would think that this fiscal year definitely it cannot happen," he said.
Sources had told Reuters in July that Bharti Infratel, the mobile phone carrier's telecoms tower arm, was looking at a minimum $500 million IPO, for which it was expected to file regulatory papers in September or October.
Bharti Chairman Sunil Mittal had said in early September they were yet to take a decision on the tower unit's IPO.
