Will Telkom become Chinese?
News emerged today that China Mobile may be looking at acquiring a stake in the mobile giant MTN. China Mobile look determined to gain a strong foothold in emerging markets which makes MTN a prime target. This speculation caused the MTN share price to surge by over 6 % on today’s trade.
MTN has been engaging in talks with Telkom about a potential acquisition of its fixed line assets. This creates a scenario where a foreign company in the form of China Mobile may own a large stake in South Africa’s fixed line assets through Telkom.
In 1997 SBC Communications and Malaysia Telekom took a combined stake of 30% in Telkom, something which many believe was partly to blame for Telkom’s monopoly status, high telecoms rates and litigious nature.
Talks that Telkom, South Africa’s most pivotal telecoms provider, may once again have a foreign owner calling the shots may be cause for concern for certain segments of the local industry.
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