The state-owned overseas telecom carrier VSNL would invest $ 67.5 million (about Rs 284 crore) in the $ 2.5 billion ICO Global project as subscription to an ongoing rights issue, raising the company's total exposure to the project to about Rs 1,000 crore.

"We have already invested about Rs 700 crore in the ICO global project. We will soon channel another tranche of $ 67.5 million as subscription to the ICO rights issue which is out now," VSNL acting chairman and managing director Amitabh Kumar said.

The rights issue is closing on May 26, Kumar said adding VSNL is currently in the process of procuring government approval for subscribing to it. The ICO Global project, which will put in place a global mobile communications network by using a constellation of 12 satellites, has 60 strategicinvestors from 53 countries, ICO global senior vice president Bishnu D Pradhan said here today at a seminar on "Satellite-based basic mobile services".

VSNL currently holds seven per cent equity in the project and is the second largest strategic investor in the project after Inmarsat. Other major partners of the project include Deutsche Telecom, Hughes, Singapore Telecom, British Telecom and Swisscom.

The other satellite-based mobile communications venture in which the Indian telecom giant is going to invest in a big way is the Agrani satellite project, promoted by the Afro-Asian Satellite Communications Ltd (AASCL).

AASCL is a consortium of several companies with Zee TV owner Subhash Chandra holding a majority stake. Other partners include VSNL and American defence and aerospace major Lockheed Martin. Agrani is a satellite-based mobile communications project exclusively for India, which is to have an equity base of $ 700 million.

VSNL would invest about Rs 200 crore in the venture. The equity patternof the project is being finalised, Amitabh Kumar said. "We intend to pick up around 10-15 per cent in Agrani by investing about Rs 200 crore," he said. Lockheed Martin would plough about $ 100 million in Agrani.

Agrani would be using a single satellite setup. However, it would keep a second satellite also in the orbit as emergency alternative. Kumar said investments in both these projects would come from the proceedings of the company's earlier Global Depository Receipts issue.