SLT stake sale postponed until November at least

Following a Supreme Court decision in June 2007 barring any further action on the proposed purchase of Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) shares by Malaysian cellco Maxis Communications, the case has been postponed until 22 November. It had originally been set to return to court this week, but all parties failed to submit legal objections and counter-objections, which must now be submitted by mid-October. The original court ruling prevented Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) Corporation from selling a 25.3% stake in SLT to Maxis (which would lower the Japanese firm’s interest to 9.9% and cancel its management contract), on the grounds of a lack of transparency. The Sri Lankan government owns 49.5% of SLT.