NTT DoCoMo to exit India, unload entire stake in Tata Teleservices

Tokyo: Japan's NTT DoCoMo Inc will unload its 26.5 per cent stake in loss-making Indian mobile phone joint venture Tata Teleservices Ltd and exit the country as it struggles with tough price competition, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.

An NTT DoCoMo spokesman said the company was considering various options for its overseas operations but that nothing had been decided. Japan's top operator of mobile phone services is expected to book about 80 billion yen ($780 million) in related losses in the financial year ended on March 31, results of which are due to be announced at 3 p.m. (0600 GMT), the sources said.

NTT DoCoMo invested 266.7 billion yen in Tata Teleservices in 2009. The company ranks seventh in India with 63 million subscribers as of the end of March.