PR agency sought for Telkom's IPO
The government's Department of Public Enterprises is advertising in local newspapers for consultancies to bid on the provision of domestic public relations services for the initial public offering (IPO) of phone utility Telkom.
Telkom's previous PR contracts, both locally and abroad, expired in December during the time that the listing had to be postponed partly due to delays in the drafting of a new telecoms policy and new regulations. Now it appears that the government is set on speeding up the process with a clear indication that it intends to have completed the long-delayed IPO by the end of the fiscal year to end-March.
Treasury officials say that despite weak world telecoms markets the IPO is to go ahead. At the government's annual budget in February it was expected that about R10-billion would be raised from the privatisation. It is intended that at least 20% will be listed in Johannesburg and New York.
The company that wins the bid will be retained for up to seven months from September 16.
