(Adds details and background)
JOHANNESBURG, June 29 (Reuters) – South Africa’s ruling ANC
is debating ways to nationalise struggling fixed-line operator
Telkom, a delegate at the party’s five-yearly policy
conference said on Friday.
“There is support for the measure but it will not be
included in the economic report because of the sensitivity,” the
delegate told Reuters on the sidelines of the event.
“We discussed financing mechanisms to buy out the share not
held by government and pension funds,” the delegate added.
South Africa’s government and its employee pension fund
together hold a 50.7 percent stake in Telkom, according to
Thomson Reuters data.
This month, South Africa turned down a $385 million offer
from South Korea’s KT Corp for a stake in the
company, saying it was strategic to its plan to roll out
internet services to all South Africans by 2020.
Telkom shares have fallen more than 20 percent since the
deal was scuppered at the end of May. They perked up briefly on
June 19 amid reports the government might be getting ready to
buy up the bits of the firm it does not already own.
Once a wholly owned state utility, Telkom has struggled in
recent years, hit by declining fixed-line revenue as more
customers move to mobile phones.
It belatedly launched its own mobile service but has so far
failed to gain traction against Vodacom, which it used
to own, and MTN Group.
(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Ed Cropley)
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