A consortium of investors led by Singapore state-owned investment group Temasek, which is buying up to $5bn of Merrill Lynch stock, has invested $1bn (€680m) in Indian telecommunications company Bharti Infratel, the second deal in the sector in the past week.

The investment valued the Bombay-listed company at between $10bn and $12.5bn, according to a statement from Bharti to the Bombay stock exchange this morning.