AFK Sistema was established in 1993 as a public, diversified financial corporation serving more than 100 million customers in telecommunications, high-tech industries, thermal power, petrochemicals, radio, space technologies, banking, real estate, retail, the mass media, tourism and medical services.
AFK Sistema's affiliated companies operate in Russia, other CIS countries, Central and Eastern Europe, and India.
The corporation's total assets of as of September 30, 2009 were an estimated $41.9 billion.
The AFK Sistema Group includes public companies such as MTS, Comstar-OTS and Sitronics.
On January 4, 2007, AFK Sistema became the first private Russian company to receive official permission to open a branch office in India.
The AFK Sistema India project is the first multi-billion dollar joint venture between Russian and Indian companies in the Indian consumer market. The corporation is building its new operations in India from the ground up, using its own funds and external loans.
AFK Sistema has a 73.71% stake in the company Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd., which it owns together with the Shyam Group. Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd. has a licence to provide telecommunications services and use frequency domains throughout India. The operator began providing CDMA2000 mobile communication services in India on September 30, 2008, and currently has more than three million subscribers in the states of Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Kolkata, West Bengal, Bihar, Delhi, Karnataka, Mumbai, Haryana and Maharashtra. Subscriber growth is among the highest in the country - about 15% per month. High-speed internet access is now available, allowing subscribers to access the internet at speeds of up to 3.1 Mbit/s. This service is already available in 24 cities, including all of India's largest cities -Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Delhi.
In March 2009, Sistema Shyam TeleServices was granted permission to use the MTS brand throughout India.
In April 2009, Sitronics, a leading supplier of telecommunications services, information technology and microelectronics in Russia and the CIS, officially registered an affiliate in India called Sitronics India. Sistema Shyam TeleServices has started providing RUIM cards (similar to SIM cards, only for CDMA networks) under a contract worth approximately $3 million in 2009. In addition, Sistema Shyam TeleServices and Sitronics India have signed a three-year, $64.2 million contract for the supply, installation and maintenance of billing and customer service systems.
At a session of the Russian-Indian Council of Business Leaders, which took place during Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's official visit to Russia in December 2009, AFK Sistema signed a memorandum of understanding with ONGC Videsh Ltd., India's largest oil and gas corporation. The memorandum provides for possible cooperation by the parties in the oil and gas sector, including joint efforts to explore and develop hydrocarbon resources and the possible purchase of assets in the oil and gas industries of Russia and other countries.
AFK Sistema's strategic plans in the Indian market include building an emergency situations mission control centre, implementing systems for monitoring the coastal economic zone, security systems for municipal facilities (the Safe City project), and the development of the GLONASS programme.
AFK Sistema is also considering possibilities of increasing cooperation in education with its Indian partner.