2nd Mar 2012 13:20
SISTEMA'S INDIAN OPERATION SSTL FILES REVIEW PETITION WITH INDIAN SUPREME COURT
Moscow, Russia - March 2, 2012 - Sistema JSFC ("Sistema") (LSE:SSA), the largest diversified public financial corporation in Russia and the CIS, announces that its Indian subsidiary Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited (SSTL) has filed a review petition before the Indian Supreme Court seeking to overturn the judgment issued by the court on February 2, 2012, revoking 21 telecom licenses granted to SSTL in 2008. Sistema and SSTL strongly believe that the Supreme Court in its judgment has not considered several relevant submissions made by SSTL which were specific and unique to its case. SSTL also filed a petition seeking to stay the cancellation of the licenses while the review petition is pending.
Sistema believes that Sistema and SSTL are being unfairly penalised for acting in good faith and in reliance on the appropriateness of the procedures established by India's telecommunications authorities, and is therefore prepared to pursue all available legal remedies in this matter.
Vsevolod Rozanov, President and CEO of SSTL, commented: "We believe that SSTL's case being a CDMA operator is different, when compared to other affected mobile operators. It is pertinent to note that SSTL was the only operator to have applied for a Pan-India CDMA spectrum in 2008. There is no finding or suggestion by the CAG report that CDMA spectrum was equally or anywhere near in demand as GSM. Even now, our company continues to be the only pure play CDMA operator in the country. In light of our commitment to continue our Pan-Indian operations and to protect the interest of more than 15 million customers and our investments, we have filed for a review of the said judgment before the Honorable Supreme Court."
About Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd.
Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd (SSTL) is a venture, involving equity participation by Sistema {LSE: SSA} of Russia, the Russian Federation and the Shyam Group of India. Sistema is the majority shareholder in the joint venture company which operates its telecom services under the MTS brand. MTS is well recognized in India and worldwide for its commitment to high quality and innovative telecom solutions. MTS has recently been ranked by Millward Brown as 80th most valuable brand in the world. In a short span of time, MTS in India has secured over 15 million wireless subscribers and under the MBlaze brand provides mobile broadband services to more than 1.5 million customers in over 300 cities across the country. The company employs over 3500 employees, operates through a universe of over 300,000 retailers and has made investments of over USD 3.1 billion. For more information, please visit www.mtsindia.in
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For further information, please visit www.sistema.com or contact:
| Investor Relations Evgeniy Chuikov Tel.: +7 (495) 692 1100 | Public Relations Vsevolod Sementsov Tel.:+7 (495) 730 1705 |
Sistema is the largest diversified public financial corporation in Russia and the CIS, which invests in and is a major shareholder of companies serving over 100 million customers in the sectors of telecommunications, high technology, oil and energy, radars and aerospace, banking, retail, mass-media, tourism and healthcare services. Founded in 1993, the company reported revenues of US$ 9.0 billion for the third quarter of 2011, and total assets of US$ 42.7 billion as at September 30, 2011. Sistema's global depository receipts are listed under the symbol "SSA" on the London Stock Exchange. Sistema's ordinary shares are listed under the symbol "AFKS" on the MICEX-RTS Stock Exchange, and under the symbol "SIST" on the Moscow Stock Exchange (MSE). Sistema was ranked number 342 in the 2010 edition of the Fortune Global 500 list. Website: www.sistema.com
Some of the information in this press release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of Sistema. You can identify forward looking statements by terms such as "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "will," "could," "may" or "might" the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. We wish to caution you that these statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially. We do not intend to update these statements to reflect events and circumstances occurring after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Many factors could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections or forward-looking statements, including, among others, general economic conditions, our competitive environment, risks associated with operating in Russia, rapid technological and market change in our industries, as well as many other risks specifically related to Sistema and its operations.
This document does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to sell or issue, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase or subscribe for, any shares or other securities of JSFC Sistema and/or any of its subsidiaries and affiliated companies, nor shall any part of it nor the fact of its distribution form part of or be relied on in connection with any contract or investment decision relating thereto, nor does it constitute a recommendation regarding the shares or securities of JSFC Sistema and/or any of its subsidiaries and affiliated companies.
Copyright Business Wire 2012
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