Court blocks Japan's NTT from selling stake in Sri Lanka Telecom

Sri Lanka's Supreme Court halted Japan's Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) from selling shares in the island's main telecom company pending a corruption probe.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Sarath Silva suspended the proposed sale to Global Telecom Holdings, a unit of Malaysia's Usaha Tegas Sdn, and set a new hearing date for Sept 17.

'This type of transaction must have a high degree of transparency,' the chief justice said, calling for documents relating to the transaction.

NTT, which owns a 35.2 pct stake in Sri Lanka Telecom, last month received approval from the Sri Lankan government to sell 25.3 pct to Global Telecom Holdings.

Read more,
http://www.hemscott.com/news/latest-news/item.do?newsId=45163728826678