Vodafone’s dispute relates to its $11 billion acquisition of a 67% stake in the mobile-phone business owned by Hutchison Whampoa. Cairn Energy is contesting a big tax bill that Indian government raised for a 2006 transaction.
When Vietnam signalled it would claim the tax due, oil giant ConocoPhillips issued a pre-emptive legal strike using an arbitration process under the UK-Vietnam bilateral investment treaty.
Now that the February 23 deadline for the court directive to pay Tk2,000 crore audit dues to the telecom regulator looms, Telenor hopes that the ongoing audit dispute can be settled without resorting to international arbitration.
The ICSID had issued an interim order directing the government not to take any steps to enforce its decision to collect the outstanding capital gains tax.