Deutsche giant eyes TOT

Deutsche giant eyes TOT

BANGKOK (DPA): Deutsche Telecom and several other foreign
communications giants have expressed a keen interest in gaining a
stake in the Telephone Organization of Thailand (TOT) -- a state
monoply, reports said Saturday.

Thailand's Transport and Communications Minister Suthep
Thueksuban said the German telecom giant, along with Nippon
Telegraph, the Telephone Corp of Japan and an unidentified U.S.
communications company was interested in buying a stake in TOT,
one of several state enterprises earmarked for partial
privatization, said the Bangkok Post newspaper.

"They are interested in taking a 25 per cent stake in TOT no
matter how much the shares will be priced. They said the telecoms
business in Thailand has bright prospects as landline phones
belong to only 12 per cent of the Thai people," said Suthep.