India’s Economic Times reports that a previously proposed US$10 billion listing of state-owned operator BSNL is back on track following objections earlier this year from employee unions. The publication notes that India’s finance ministry has asked BSNL to begin laying the groundwork for the country’s largest-ever listing, with BSNL currently seeking a merchant banker for the deal. If the IPO does finally go ahead and raises Rs40,000 crore by selling a 10 percent stake, it would value the operator at around US$100 billion. This would catapult BSNL into the league of top telecom operators in the world in terms of market cap, on a par with US-based Verizon Communications.

In contrast, the report claims the market cap of Indian rival Bharti Airtel, the country’s largest mobile operator by subscribers, is around US$37 billion. According to Wireless Intelligence data, Bharti had 62 million subscribers at the end of Q1 2008, compared to BSNL’s 40 million. The Economic Times notes that BSNL’s total customer base – including fixed and mobile subscribers – is 83 million. Earlier this week it was reported that BSNL has delayed the opening of bids for a 93 million, US$6.5 billion, GSM line tender until the end of next month due to a high number of vendor enquiries.