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/ 31 March 2008

Telkom rejects Oger Telecoms approach

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.

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/ 28 March 2008

Kenya power-sharing hits deadlock over Cabinet

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.

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/ 23 January 2008

A bank in every African pocket?

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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/ 20 January 2008

Federer rattled at Australian Open

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

Kenyan appeal court throws out Safaricom suit

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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/ 30 November 2007

Miners, resources add some cheer

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

JSE still positive, but lower on PPI

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

Telkom shares fall, MTN rallies as talks cease

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

Telkom headline earnings fall 15,1%

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 quits McLaren

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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/ 11 October 2007

Telkom continues talks with MTN, Vodafone

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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/ 4 September 2007

Local deals help lift JSE

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

Telkom says it is in talks with Vodafone and MTN

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”.