Los Angeles, USA -- Led by Sharon Stone and Goldie Hawn, the Hollywood power crowd turned out to hear words of wisdom from the Dalai Lama this week. The evergreen screen talents seemed thrilled to meet up greeting each other warmly before engaging in an intense conversation, no doubt, inspired by the Tibetan leader's address.

Goldie turned the lunch into a family affair, being accompanied by her 26-year-old stepson Boston - her partner Kurt Russell's child from a previous relationship. Also among the throng of Tinseltown executives and luminaries were Robert Downey Junior and Laurence Fishburne.

Speaking in English and with the help of a translator at times, the Dalai Lama urged his audience to consider making a biopic on the life of Buddha. Hollywood has the power to affect the world through cinema and spread compassion, His Holiness told them. "From Buddha's life story, maybe you'll get inspiration. Our intention is not the propagation of Buddhism, but helping the world."

http://www.hellomagazine.com

What's the next Hollywood epic? If the producers at M Films have their way, it will be a biopic on the life of Buddha. In an effort to promote the project, the as-of-yet unproven production company M Films hosted a luncheon at the Peninsula Hotel on Beverly Hills on Sept. 11 to enlighten some of Hollywood's lead entertainment and business executives, talent, and members of the press about its first feature project, currently in development. What drew most of the 75-plus guests in attendance--including Sharon Stone, Robert Downey Jr., Laurence Fishburne, and Goldie Hawn--was the chance to hear from the event's keynote speaker, the Dalai Lama, who offered his endorsement of the movie project.

While speaking in broken English and with the help of a translator at times, the 14th Dalai Lama made his point clear: Hollywood has the power to affect the world through cinema, and a film about the life of Buddha has the potential to inspire compassion, something sorely lacking but needed in our society, said His Holiness. "From Buddha's life story, maybe you'll get inspiration," he said. "Our intention is not the propagation of Buddhism, but helping the world."

So far, M Films has roped in Hollywood producer Michael Shane, whose executive producing credits include I, Robot and Catch Me If You Can. Shane was on hand at the luncheon to greet guests and to share his enthusiasm for the project. Also speaking was Zen Master and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Thich Nhat Hanh, whose book Old Path White Clouds is being adapted for the biopic. "It is a manual for the practice of peace," Hanh said of his book, which MCorpGlobal, the parent company of M Films, has bought exclusive film rights to. According to the company's website (http://mcorpglobal.com/), MCorpGlobal estimates the cost of this project to be $120 million. David S. Ward (The Sting, Sleepless in Seattle) is attached as the screenwriter. No director or actors are attached at this time.

Also speaking was Zen Master and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Thich Nhat Hanh, whose book Old Path White Clouds is being adapted for the biopic. "It is a manual for the practice of peace," Hanh said of his book, which MCorpGlobal, the parent company of M Films, has bought exclusive film rights to.

According to the company's website http://www.mcorpglobal.com, MCorpGlobal estimates the cost of this project to be $120 million.

http://www.backstage.com

NEW DELHI -- Spice Communications Pvt. Ltd. said it plans to invest as much as $2.5 billion during the next two to three years to tap India's booming market for mobile-phone services.

Spice, 49% owned by Telekom Malaysia Bhd., said it plans to raise the money through an initial public offering, followed by a second stock offering a year later, as well as take on long-term debt. The investment is geared to expanding the company's reach to all of India's 23 telecommunications circles, or regions, from two.

http://online.wsj.com

NEW DELHI: Delhi-based BK Modi group's MCorp Global has decided to invest up to $2.5 billion (Rs 11,700 crore) over two to three years in its flagship firm Spice Communications for expanding cellular business across the country.

Spice would spend around $2 billion in entering new telecom service areas and around $500 million in expanding the existing business. At present, Spice has presence in just two telecom circles (service areas) — Punjab and Karnataka, with revenues of under Rs 600 crore and very small net profit. Now, to cash in on the telecom boom in India, Spice has applied for licences for another 21 circles to have a nationwide presence.

Unfolding the plans, MCorp's VC and president Dilip Modi said that Spice would dilute up to 20% of equity to raise about $250-300 million by December in the first round of IPO. By 2008 end, depending on its funding needs, it would raise another $350 million. Modi said the rest would be a combination of debt and vendor financing.

"We have finalised Enam Securities, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan as our advisors for the IPO," said Modi.

He said the company's plans were based on the huge potential India offered in cellular telephony, despite the big lead taken by national players like state-owned BSNL and private players like Bharti Airtel, Reliance, Tatas and Hutch.

Modi said Spice strategy would be to go into under-served areas, much on the lines of BSNL and go in for sharing infrastructure to keep costs low. He said roll-out plans would depend on the availability of spectrum in 1800 MHz and 2.1 GHz (3G, third generation services) bands.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Spice Telecom, cellular service provider in Punjab and Karnataka, is lining up an initial public offer, IPO to raise as much as Rs 1,400 crore (Rs 14 billion) before the end of the year, reports The Hindu Business Line.

The company, which will dilute 20% stake through the IPO, is planning to invest USD 2 billion (about Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion)) for expanding its telecom network into new areas.

Future plans

* To invest USD 2 billion for expanding its telecom network into new areas

* Lined up an investment of USD 500 million for its existing operations

* Has applied for long distance telephony lines

Public offer

Spice has applied for a unified access licence for 21 more circles to give the company a pan-India footprint. In order to finance the plans, the company may go for a follow on public offer by December 2008.

Announcing the IPO plans, Dilip Modi, chairman, Spice Telecom, said that JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank and Enam Securities have been appointed as merchant bankers for the upcoming IPO. He said that the second round of float would depend on the approval of the 21 unified licences that the company has applied for.

Growth plan

Spice Telecom is a 51:49 joint venture between B K Modi promoted ModiCorp and Telekom Malaysia. The company has also applied for long distance telephony licences. Spice has lined up an investment of USD 500 million for its existing operations.

"This growth plan has been carved out after the restructuring of the company and finalisation of partnership between internationally renowned Telekom Malaysia, TM and Indian partner MCorp Global. The financial restructuring has been finalised by the Development Bank of Singapore along with a consortium of several other leading International Banks," said a press release.

Results

Apart from cellular services, Spice has its own brand of handsets, value added offerings and organised mobile Retail. After the recent restructuring at the shareholders' level and partnership with TM, there has been a significant improvement in the results. Over the last 12 months ending June 2006, the operations have shown a 40% increase in subscriber base. Spice posted revenue of Rs 734 crore (USD 158 million) and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of Rs 224 crore in the year ended March 31.

The company has a valuation of USD 1.2 billion (Rs 5,500 crore) at present. The company is expecting its valuation to surge to USD 2 billion next year and USD 4 billion by 2009 after it acquires a national footprint.

http://www.moneycontrol.com/

Spice Telecom is planning to raise $650 million through two public offerings for funding its $2.5-billion pan-India expansion in the GSM mobile space.

The joint venture company, in which MCorp Global (a BK Modi company) owns a 51 per cent stake, with the rest owned by Telekom Malaysia, has applied for a unified access service licence in 21 circles across the country.

Spice has announced it will invest $2.5 billion to build up its network over the next two-three years, making it the seventh pan-Indian mobile player. The others are Bharti, Hutch, BSNL, Idea, Tata, and Reliance Communications.

“We are coming out with the first public offer, to raise $250-300 million, between October and December this year. The second issue will be for about $350 million, and is expected by December 2008, depending on the licence we get and our market valuation,” said Dilip Modi, vice-chairman and president, MCorp Global.

The advisers for the IPOs are Enam Securities, Deutsche Bank, and JP Morgan.

The operator is looking at dilution of up to 20 per cent of its equity, but will maintain the 51:49 ratio with Telekom Malaysia.

Of the total investment, $500 million will go towards the expansion of the Punjab and Karnataka circles, where it has a combined subscriber base of 2.1 million (their market share in the GSM mobile space is 2.5 per cent). The rest of the money will be invested in the proposed new circles.

Modi said the valuation of the company would be in the range of $1-1.5 billion, and was expected to go up to $4 billion once the expansion plans fructified. In comparison, Hutch-Essar has a valuation of $10-12 billion, with a subscriber base of 19 million.

Despite the investments, Spice is looking at profits after tax, and hopes to increase its EDIBTA to Rs 324 crore this financial year from Rs 224 crore in the last financial year, and revenues to Rs 1,000 cr from Rs 734 cr.

It plans to initially roll out its new services in the B and C circles. “The semi-urban and the rural market is under-served, and we want to start our expansion there,” Modi added.

http://www.business-standard.com

NEW DELHI: Spice Communications Pvt, an Indian mobile-phone operator part owned by Telekom Malaysia Bhd, plans to raise as much as US$300 million (US$1 = RM3.66) selling shares and will use the proceeds to fund its network expansion across the country.

The sale of as much as 20 per cent equity, to be completed by December, will be part of a US$2.5 billion spending plan to step out of the two provinces of Punjab and Karnataka, vice chairman Dilip Modi said in New Delhi yesterday. Borrowing will supplement funds from the share sale, he said.

Mobile-phone companies such as Bharti Airtel Ltd and Spice are investing to add customers in India, the world's fastest growing cellular market after China. India added 18.2 million users in the four months ended July 30, more than double the 7.62 million a year earlier. Mobile-phone services and aviation are among the fastest expanding industries in India, where ownership limits on foreign investors began easing 15 years ago.

"Theoretically, Spice's timing is right," said Dipak Acharya, who helps manage the equivalent of US$21.5 million in stocks at BOB Asset Management Co in Mumbai. "The industry is growing and the market is also looking up."

Acharya owns shares of Bharti Airtel, the nation's biggest mobile-phone company that uses the global system for mobile communications standard.

Rising incomes and low tariffs are helping mobile-phone companies in India, where about 7 per cent of the 1.1 billion people own mobile phones, behind Asia's 23 per cent rate, according to Framingham, Massachusetts-based researcher IDC.

"We will go to more cities and we have applied for more licences," Modi said.

On September 1, the company applied to the federal government to start services in 21 additional circles, or operating zones, for telephone services.

Spice will need to battle bigger rivals for market share in key cities such as Mumbai and New Delhi, the nation's commercial and political capitals. To fund a part of the expansion, which will also include services in bigger cities, Spice will make a second public offer by December 2008 to raise US$350 million.

The pattern of the holding in the company won't be altered. "The principle we are going to work with is going to ensure that we remain at the 51-49 combination," with Malaysia Telekom holding 49 percent," Modi said.

"We are aggressive and we are sure of the role Spice is going to play with these investments. We are going in for an early listing."

JPMorgan Chase & Co and Deutsche Bank AG are among the advisers to the share sale, Modi said.

Spice, which posted revenue of 7.34 billion rupees (100 rupees = RM8.22) and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, or Ebitda, of 2.24 billion rupees in the year ended March 31, expects revenue of 9.9 billion rupees and Ebitda at 3.2 billion rupees this fiscal year.

Ebitda is a measure of the profitability of a company. - Bloomberg

http://www.btimes.com.my

NEW DELHI, SEPT 4: India's first cellular operator Spice Telecom which currently operates in Punjab and Karnataka circles plans to raise about $2.5 billion from IPO and debt financing to expand its network from 2 circles to 23 circles. The company on Monday said it plans to launch the $250-300 million IPO by end 2006 followed by another issue to raise $350-400 million, next year.

JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank and Enam Securities are the merchant bankers for the upcoming IPO. The company will file the draft prospectus with Sebi by November, this year. The first round of IPO will dilute Spice Telecom's stake in the company by up to 20%. "Post IPO too, we will maintain the 49:51 ownership ratio of Telekom Malaysia and Spice Telecom in the venture," Spice Telecom MD Dilip Modi said.

Malaysia's Telekom Malaysia has a 49% stake in the GSM operator. It will invest about $500 million in its existing Punjab and Karnataka circles where it is second to Bharti Airtel with 1.5 million and 0.5 million subscribers, respectively.

http://www.financialexpress.com

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian GSM carrier Spice Communications said on Monday it plans to raise up to $2.5 billion via debt and a public offer to expand in India, the world's fastest growing mobile services market.

Unlisted Spice Communications, 49 percent owned by Telekom Malaysia, has less than 2 percent of India's 108 million mobile phone users and offers its services in just two of the 23 zones that make up the country's telecoms sector.

"The IPO (initial public offering) helps in strengthening our present position as well as supporting our new growth strategy going forward," Spice Communications Vice-Chairman Dilip Modi told reporters.

The funds will be used to buy mobile services licences for the remaining 21 zones and permission to launch domestic long distance and international long distance services.

The fund raising, which involves a two-stage offering of shares, will result in an equity dilution of between 10 and 20 percent.

The company, which offers services in Punjab and Karnataka, plans its first equity offering of between $250 million and $300 million by December.

The subsequent public offer for nearly $350 million will depend on market conditions and is likely to be completed by December 2008, Modi said, adding: "We are expecting valuations to improve by that time."

MOBILE GROWTH

Spice Communications has an enterprise value of more than $1 billion. The company has traditionally sourced equipment from China's ZTE Corp and Huawei Technologies and Sweden's Ericsson.

The listing would offer investors another opportunity to piggyback on soaring mobile growth in India where more than 5 million new customers are entering the sector each month, lured by the world's lowest call rates.

India, Asia's fourth-largest economy, has just two listed wireless operators with a national presence.

Bharti Airtel Ltd., 30.8 percent owned by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., has a market value of $16.8 billion, making it the most valuable telecoms stock.

Reliance Communications Ltd. is valued at $7.89 billion. Other players include state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. and Hutchison Essar Ltd.

The proposed listing will also help Malaysia's dominant phone provider, Telekom Malaysia, to get a market value on its $178.8 million purchase of its Spice stake in March.

Telekom Malaysia, facing a near-saturated market at home where mobile penetration is more than 68 percent, wants to benefit from expected growth in India where wireless services are used by less than 11 percent of a population of more than a billion people.

Telekom Malaysia bought the stake from Deutsche Bank and Ashmore Investment Management. Both institutions will help raise funding for the current expansion, Modi said.

http://in.today.reuters.com

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian GSM carrier Spice Communications Ltd., partly owned by Telekom Malaysia, is likely to announce later on Monday it will invest more than a billion dollars in network expansion, a source told Reuters.

The source said Spice Communications, which operates a GSM network in two of the 23 circles making up India's booming telecoms sector, will also announce an initial public offering. Each circle is roughly equal to a large city or a state.

Spice has more than 2 million mobile users out of a total market of more than 108 million GSM and CDMA customers in the world's fastest growing cellular services market.

Spice Communications is due to hold a news conference at 3.30 p.m. local time (1000 GMT).

http://www.ndtvprofit.com

Indian mobile operator Spice Telecom is looking at a $300 million IPO before the year is out, as part of a $2 billion expansion plan.

Spice is one of several regional carriers looking to build a national network to tap into the country's rapid mobile subscriber growth, and is awaiting approval from India's Department of Telecom for its license applications. (See Indian Mobile Set to Spread.) It has previously hinted at the possibility of an IPO in the first quarter of 2007.

According to the Press Trust of India news agency, Spice chairman and CEO Dilip Modi told a news conference Monday that the $2 billion will be raised from a range of sources, including equity and debt funding. The IPO, which is expected to raise between $250 million and $300 million, will represent 20 percent of the company's equity.

Malaysian incumbent Telekom Malaysia Bhd. holds a 49 per cent stake in the operator through its subsidiary, TM International, while the remaining 51 per cent is owned by SpiceCorp (India).

JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank AG and Enam Securities have been appointed to handle the IPO. Modi said the company intends to raise $350 million through a second public offering in the next two years to provide more cash if its license applications are approved. In addition to expanding its network coverage, Spice has applied to enter the long distance services market.

India's bustling telecom sector is full of IPO talk, with IDEA Cellular Ltd. and Hutchison Essar also planning to go public soon, and software and services firm Tech Mahindra 's successful foray into the markets last week. (See Birla's Big IDEA for India, Hutchison Essar Preps IPO, and Tech Mahindra Soars on Debut.)

Spice, which operates in two of India's 23 regions, is gearing up its operations for the expansion, and said Friday it has appointed Mohan Nandwani as chief operating officer for its business in the Punjab region.

http://www.lightreading.com

Indian GSM carrier Spice Communications Ltd, partly owned by Telekom Malaysia, is likely to announce later on Monday it will invest more than a billion dollars in network expansion, a source told Reuters.

The source said Spice Communications, which operates a GSM network in two of the 23 circles making up India's booming telecoms sector, will also announce an initial public offering. Each circle is roughly equal to a large city or a state.

Spice has more than 2 million mobile users out of a total market of more than 108 million GSM and CDMA customers in the world's fastest growing cellular services market.

Spice Communications is due to hold a news conference at 3.30 pm local time (1000 GMT).

http://www.hindustantimes.com

Indian mobile operator Spice Telecom plans to invest USD 2.5 billion over the next 2-3 years to expand its network, the Wall Street Journal writes. Around USD 2 billion will go towards expanding to new regions and USD 500 million for its existing operations, said Dilip Modi, vice chairman and president of MCorp Global, the holding company of Spice. The company plans an IPO, followed by a secondary stock offering a year later and long-term debt to finance the expansion. The IPO is expected by December, raising USD 250-300 million from selling an up to 20 percent stake in the company, with another USD 350 million in stock to be issued by the end of 2008. Spice operates in Punjab and Karnataka through the Spice Telecom brand, and on 1 September the company applied for licenses for expansion into other states and for national and international long-distance licenses. At the end of July, Spice had 2.09 million subscribers.

http://www.telecom.paper.nl

Punjab’s premier cellular service operator, Spice Telecom, today announced the appointment of Mr. Man Mohan Nandwani, as the new Chief Operating Officer for the Spice Punjab circle.

"We are very pleased to welcome Mr. Man Mohan Nandwani," commented Mr. Prakash Nanani, CEO, Spice Telecom. "His experience and expertise will play a pivotal role in making Spice Telecom the preferred choice in mobile communication for the people of Punjab.”.

A hands-on, goal-oriented professional with diversified experience in sales and marketing, Mr. Nandwani, prior to joining Spice Telecom, was the President and COO for the International Business Division at Shyam Telecom. In a career spanning over thirty years, Mr. Nandwani, has had an extensive experience in sales and marketing in domestic as well as global markets.

Mr. Nandwani has done Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing & Sales Management from Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi, and has also undertaken professional training in management development workshops from Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore and Calcutta.

http://www.telecomlive.com/homepg/innercomt.asp?N_Id=10206