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Date : 30/01/2003
Source: Department of Public Enterprises
Title: Radebe: Announcing opening of Telkom offer and price range


MEDIA STATEMENT BY MINISTER JEFF RADEBE, MINISTER OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES

Today we are one step closer to the public listing of Telkom on the JSE Securities Exchange South Africa and the New York Stock Exchange.

It gives me great pleasure to announce, for the benefit of all South Africans, that the South African retail offering of ordinary shares in Telkom opened at 09h00 this morning. In line with this, the listing of Africa's communications giant on the JSE Securities Exchange South Africa is scheduled for Tuesday, 4 March.

This is a memorable moment for our country, and one which cannot be understated. We believe that the Telkom listing will play a major role in the continued growth of the South African economy - driving economic transformation and development inside our own country, while at the same time taking one of the country's economic giants onto the world stage.

Soon you will be given an overview of the prospectus that has been filed with the JSE Securities Exchange South Africa, and will be given some of the finer detail in relation to the offer itself.

What I can tell you at this stage is that the offering consists of the sale of approximately 139 million ordinary shares by Government. An indicative price range has been set of R33.50 and R40.90 per ordinary share, implying a market capitalisation of approximately R18.66 billion to R22.78 billion.

At this point, we would like to emphasise Government's commitment to this IPO, which we initiated in order to meet a specific set of social and commercial objectives. In line with this, we have agreed to a price range at a level which we as Government believe is commensurate with a successful IPO, and to a timeframe which shows our commitment to the South African market.

As you are aware, the South African retail offer includes a special Khulisa offer specifically targeted at historically disadvantaged individuals and stokvels. In terms of this offer, we can today disclose that people will be able to buy shares at a 20% discount on the initial public offering price. In addition, they will qualify for a bonus share scheme.

The Khulisa offer provides an unprecedented opportunity to South Africans to share in the growth of our continent's communications giant and is one of the keys to the success of the retail offer to date.

The vast majority of the more than 1.5 million South Africans who registered for the share offer have registered for either Khulisa, or for Khulisa and General Offer. We believe this is proof of the support for Khulisa among the historically disadvantaged, and that our people have recognised the potential opportunities presented by the IPO.

In light of the unprecedented response to the General Retail Offering and the Khulisa Offer, including Government's desire to ensure that most South Africans who have applied own a piece of Telkom, we have been advised to extend the application phase with the listing date on the JSE Securities Exchange now scheduled for 4 March 2003. We were unable to incorporate this change in the advertisements and some of the prospectuses already in circulation since the collation of some of the data on the retail registrants only came in late last night.

You will, however, agree with me that the extension is in the interest of all ordinary South Africans and noting that this is our flagship IPO we want to ensure that ownership of Telkom is as widely spread as practically possible.

Our people have also recognised the broad benefits of entering the securities environment, and of using responsible investment to improve their own situation. They have clearly seen that there is no merit in the argument that the poor should remain poor by steering away from sound investment choices.

Those of you who have followed the history of the IPO will be well aware of the special emphasis that has been placed on non-traditional investors throughout the IPO process. This is by design, and is in direct response to the economic challenges facing our country.

Telkom's listing is designed to have significant macroeconomic benefits for the country and for our programme of black economic empowerment.

Firstly, the transfer of ownership to a large shareholder base will empower historically disadvantaged South Africans to benefit from shareholding in a way that has never been experienced before. It will bring in many new investors, including stokvels, into the investor market and enable them to share in the benefits of trading.

Secondly, the listing will promote a savings culture among our people and encourage a longer-term approach to wealth creation. This was a key argument in the public education campaign that was conducted across the length and breadth of our country and will, we believe, have long-term benefits for the tens of thousands of people who attended our workshops.

Thirdly, Government will raise significant funds from the listing of Telkom IPO that will go some way towards increasing expenditure on social delivery in the National Budget.

All of this is excellent news as we strive, as Government, to focus our attention directly on the plight of the poor, and to ensure a better life for all.

In addition to this, a successful Telkom listing has the potential to contribute to the improvement of SA's rating and investment outlook - good news as we look to increase foreign direct investment and create employment opportunities.

Obviously, this investment outlook is not only contingent on developments inside the country. As Government, we are keeping a close eye on global events which could impact on the listing, and will continue to do so as we move through the phases of the offer process.

At this stage, however, we believe that the right time to list is now!

30 January 2003
Contact: Pumla Mtyeku, Department of Public Enterprises, 082 903 2423
Source: Department of Public Enterprises (http://www.dpe.gov.za)

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