The Vodafone board is to consider launching a $13bn bid for Hutchison Essar, India's fourth largest mobile operator, at a meeting next week, the Financial Times reports.

With growth in Europe waning, a greater investment in developing markets makes sense. And India is developing rapidly. October saw 6.7 million new subscibers sign up, bringing the total to 136 million country-wide.

Any such bid would almost certainly be contested by Reliance, the second biggest operator, who has said it is monitoring developments while it considers making a formal bid. There may also be other contenders.

Should the Vodafone board decide against making such an offer, it could signal a strategy shift as India is a market no communications company can afford to ignore. ®

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