TELE-DIRECT LEAVING INDIA
By Adnews Staff
Montreal-based Tele-Direct International is pulling out of India after losing $20 million in less than three years. The company has another two years left in its five-year contract to publish telephone directories for Delhi, Bombay and five other Indian cities. However, the Canadian company says it will pay the necessary penalties to the state-owned telephone company it went into business with, and refund all advertising money it has collected for future directories. Tele-Direct will give its 60% stake in Delhi-based M&N Publications in May to its Indian partner Tej Bandhu. The company had urged Tej Bandhu to extend its contract to 10 years because Tele-Direct felt it it could have made money in India if it had more time to build a revenue base.