MTNL eyes 51% stake in Telkom Kenya

New Delhi, Aug 14 (UNI) State-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) is likely to pick up 51 per cent stake in Telkom Kenya, the sole national operator in the East African country.

A number of international telephony operators namely-- Telkom South Africa, British Telecom, Reliance, VSNL, Tata Group and Alkazar Kuwait-- have also expressed their interests in becoming strategic partners in the sole national operator.

Also in the fray are country's top mobile operator Bharti Airtel and the Tata Group.

Kenya last month nearly doubled the Telkom Kenya stake on offer to 51 per cent. The successful bidder will get a controlling stake but will have to sell off 11 per cent in an initial public offering on the Nairobi Stock Exchange.

Telkom Kenya will open technical proposals from interested investors on October 30 and financial proposals on November 8.

UNI