South Africa’s Postmaster General Andile Ngcaba told Reuters that the Telecommunications Bill currently before parliament would establish a framework for the sale of up to 30% of Telkom, the state phone company. The stake is expected to go to an international investor for an estimated $1.1bn to $1.3bn in cash, plus additional investment in technology and training; the bill does not set a date limit on Telkom’s monopoly on telephone services. The firms shortlisted for the stake are Deutsche Telekom AG, Telekom Malaysia Bhd, Koninklijke PTT Nederland NV, France Telecom, SBC Communications Corp, Stet SpA and Telia AB.
