Telkom said it has rejected an approach from Oger Telecoms and will not consider the sale of the group or any of its units or joint ventures without a strategic rationale. Telkom said in a statement on Monday it had turned down the approach from United Arab Emirates-based Oger as it was not in the interest of shareholders.
Kenya’s political rivals traded accusations on Thursday over who is to blame for the deadlock in plans to create a unity government and end the country’s post-election crisis. The share flotation of top cellphone operator Safaricom — the largest IPO ever in East Africa — has also become an issue in the wrangling, officials and analysts say.
Centuries before European colonialists carved up Africa, Arab traders marvelled at the profits to be reaped in the fabled lands south of the Sahara. ”In the country of Ghana, gold grows in the sand as carrots do and is plucked at sunrise,” wrote Ibn al-Faqih, a ninth-century chronicler.
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/ 23 January 2008
With most formal banks inaccessible to many Africans, the service of cellphone banking is expanding to the poor on the continent. Mary Kimani examines how financial institutions are extending their services through the ubiquitous usage of cellphones in rural areas.
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/ 22 January 2008
Telkom has received a non-binding offer from Oger Telecom, the group said on Tuesday. Telkom, which owns 50% of South Africa’s biggest cellphone operator Vodacom, said it is continuing a review of its mobile strategy but added that it was not presently in discussions with Oger.
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/ 20 January 2008
A rattled Roger Federer was given a major scare in a five-set epic at the Australian Open on Saturday, but he avoided the fate of number-two seed Svetlana Kuznetsova who skidded out of the tournament. Other casualties included women’s sixth seed Anna Chakvetadze and men’s seventh seed Fernando Gonzalez.
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/ 20 December 2007
A Kenyan Court of Appeal dismissed a suit seeking to stop the flotation of the country’s leading mobile operator Safaricom on Thursday, clearing the way for the government to go ahead with the offer. Three opposition legislators had sought to block the country’s biggest initial public offering, saying it had not been done transparently.
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/ 6 December 2007
Mobile operator Cell C could be next on the cards for local fixed-line operator Telkom after talks with another mobile operator, MTN, terminated in November. Growth in the telecommunications sector has been skewed towards mobile operators in the past couple of years.
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/ 30 November 2007
The JSE was sharply higher by noon on Friday as gains among mining and resource stocks added some cheer. At noon, the JSE’s all-share index rose 1,12% as the gold mining index advanced 2,59%. Resources collected 2,52% and the platinum mining index recovered 1,5%.
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/ 29 November 2007
After being sharply firmer earlier in Thursday, weaker local producer price index (PPI) data forced the JSE to pull back at midday, even though world markets were firm. The JSE had been up as much as 533 points during the day, but by midday, it was only 337 points in the black.
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/ 28 November 2007
South African fixed-line operator Telkom’s shares plummeted more than 10% in early trade on Tuesday on news that the negotiations it was in with cellphone operator MTN had terminated. In September, Telkom released a cautionary announcement advising shareholders that it had entered into discussions with Vodafone and MTN.
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/ 19 November 2007
South African fixed-line operator Telkom said on Monday first-half headline earnings per share fell 15,1% to 742,3 cents. Telkom said the reduction in earnings was due to a 4,8% decrease in operating profit to R7,313-billion rand, caused by a 13,8% increase in operating expenses and a 122,4% rise in finance charges.
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/ 2 November 2007
Fernando Alonso’s stormy year with McLaren came to a shuddering halt on Friday with the announcement that the Spaniard was leaving the team just one year into a three-year contract. The deposed world champion will quit the British team immediately even though his current contract had two years to run until the end of the 2009 season.
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/ 24 October 2007
When George Linardos was ordered to clear his diary to help dream up new business for Nokia, he imagined six weeks brainstorming on the terrace of a five-star hotel in the Caribbean. What he got was a pot of porridge every morning at a Spartan hotel hours from Finnish capital Helsinki, with forests and snow all around.
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/ 11 October 2007
South African fixed-line telephone operator Telkom said in a cautionary announcement on Thursday that its discussions with Vodafone and MTN are still ongoing. Telkom said discussions were part of its mobile-strategy review, and that shareholders are advised to continue exercising caution when dealing in their shares until a further announcement is made.
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/ 13 September 2007
Formula One leaders McLaren have been stripped of all their 2007 constructors’ points and fined -million in a spying controversy involving Ferrari information. However, the governing FIA ruled that Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso could keep their points in the drivers’ contest.
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/ 4 September 2007
The JSE was a bit firmer by midday on Tuesday as a number of local deals buoyed sentiment for buyers. The local bourse was also getting positive direction from the FTSE, which was down in early trade, but recovered during the morning. By midday on the JSE, the all-share index was up 0,30%.
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/ 3 September 2007
South Africa’s Telkom said on Monday it was in talks with Britain’s Vodafone and MTN, sparking talk it wants to sell its fixed-line business and its stake in cellphone operator Vodacom. Telkom gave no further details. Vodafone and MTN — sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest cellphone operator — said separately the talks were at a ”very preliminary stage”.