Qualcomm's Indian arm to sell 26 percent stake

Cellphone chipmaker Qualcomm plans to sell 26 percent stake in its Indian arm to local partners, the company said Thursday.

'We are aiming at local partners and will comply with 26 percent stake requirement,' said Qualcomm India president Kanwalinder Singh.

The names of the companies which will acquire the stake will be announced Friday, he told reporters on the launch new handsets by China's Huawei Technologies.

Sources, however, said Qualcomm had zeroed in on data communications services provider Tulip Telecom and India's largest network services provider and communications infrastructure group Global Holdings for the stake sale.

Qualcomm participated in the recent auction of airwaves for broadband services and was a winner in Delhi and Mumbai circles.

The Indian partner will help with the roll out of services in India.

It is necessary for foreign players to partner with an Indian company under the guidelines issued by the department of telecommunication (DoT) for companies participating in the 3G and broadband wireless access auctions.

According to DoT, only an Indian company can have unified access services licence or an internet service provider licence.

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