Why Foreign Investors Are Favouring Bharti Infratel

Foreign portfolio investors increased their stake in Bharti Infratel Ltd. over the last three years from 16 percent to 43 percent, the most among its peers.

Multiple reasons have contributed to the trend. They include:

• Bharti Infratel’s merger with Indus Towers Ltd. is expected to be completed by June.
• Tenancy cancellation is over after a wave of consolidation among Indian mobile operators.
• The company’s profit for the December-ended quarter beat estimates.
• New agreement disclosures with mobile operators assure business continuity.

Shares of India’s second-largest tower operator have dropped nearly 28 percent over the past three years, compared with a 31 percent decline in the BSE Telecom Index in the same period.

(Corrects an earlier version that misstated the FPI stake in Bharti Infratel in 2015 and the change in share price.)