Telkom Kenya is to receive a shareholder loan from the government - which owns 49% of the company - to fund the purchase of a 3G license. The government sold a 51% stake to France Telecom in 2007, but the two parties have been in dispute since then over the US$369 million price paid.
"We are giving them a shareholder loan through which they will pay (for 3G licence) so it's actually funded by Telkom itself through a shareholder loan by the government," Esther Koimett, investment secretary at the ministry of finance, told Reuters by phone.
Although the value of the loan was not specified, it is presumed to be around the same level as the US$10 million that the 3G license will cost.
The company has also confirmed that it will launch its 3G network sometime in the fourth quarter of this year. The company has already deployed a trial network in ten locations and started live tests last December.
On the web: Reuters
Article published on 24th June 2010
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