Vodafone plans to hold into its 45 percent stake in US mobile operator Verizon Wireless, despite the JV not paying out any dividends since 2005. In an interview with German magazine 'Capital', Vodafone Group CEO Vittorio Colao said he could not envisage exiting Verizon Wireless given the current situation. Colao said that Vodafone and US partner Verizon would meet 'at end-2011' to discuss the subject of dividend payments. He also ruled out investing in new business fields and insisted that Vodafone's business remained 100 percent focused on mobile data communications. He said that Vodafone could target areas such as telemedicine with partners, but ruled out an entry into the energy market. Colao also stressed that Vodafone was experiencing on average 10 percent growth from its subsidiaries in developing markets, compared to zero growth in Europe. However, he ruled out the possibility of further expansion through takeovers of mergers, saying these were currently prohibited by high prices.
