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With the $23-billion Bharti-MTN telecom equity swap cum strategic alliance deadline set to Sep 30, it is expected that South African government might adopt a decision regarding the same today.
Bharti Airtel and South Africa's MTN had resumed the talks regarding the deal since 25 May, after the talks regarding the deal was dropped by the telecom operators ended talks last year as Airtel denied to accept the proposal which would have made it a subsidiary of MTN.
MTN needs the South African government's nod to go ahead with the deal as the state-owned Public Investment Corp (PIC) has 20% shares in the company.
The merger has received the approval of Indian government with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ensuring complete support.
"I did mention this to President (Jacob) Zuma. I sincerely hope this deal goes through," the Indian Prime Minister had mentioned.
"I hope Indian companies will not be subjected to any discriminatory treatment," Manmohan Singh said referring to the regulatory obstacles.
The South Africans want dual listing of Bharti-MTN shares for the deal between the telecom firms to be approved, whereas India has objections for such a listing as it would identical to capital account convertibility.
