Question

Hutchison is a cellular service provider and has a joint venture agreement with Essar. The company is based in

• A. Seoul
• B. Hong Kong
• C. Singapore
• D. None of these

Hint:

Recall that Hutchison Whampoa, Essar's telecom partner, is headquartered in Hong Kong.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
We are told Hutchison runs a mobile phone business in India through a joint venture with the Essar group, and we need the home base of the Hutchison side of this partnership.

Step 2: Key Formula or Approach:
Identify the parent company behind the Hutchison brand and recall where that parent group is headquartered.

Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
The Hutchison name in this joint venture comes from Hutchison Whampoa Limited, a large conglomerate controlled by the Hong Kong businessman Li Ka-shing.
Hutchison Whampoa has telecom, ports, retail and property arms spread across many countries, but its head office and origin have always been Hong Kong.
It teamed up with the Essar group of India to run Hutchison Essar, the mobile network that later became Vodafone Essar once Vodafone bought out Hutchison's stake in 2007.
Seoul is home to Korean firms such as Samsung and LG, and Singapore is home to SingTel, so neither city fits Hutchison.

Step 4: Final Answer:
Hutchison, Essar's joint venture partner, is based in Hong Kong.