Australian government seeks to increase foreign ownership on Telstra

The Australian government is said to be thinking about raising the limit of foreign ownership in Telstra, the former Australian telecommunications monopoly that is currently in process of being privatized.

With the current foreign participation level set at 35 percent, there is talk that this might be raised to 49 percent.

The country’s finance minister, Nick Minchin, has been quoted as saying that there is no real difference between the two levels, as either one maintains a majority Australian ownership in the company.

Analysts aren’t sure that raising the level of allowable foreign ownership will make much difference, however, as there are doubts that it will be possible to raise that much foreign interest in Telstra.

Meanwhile, the government has said that it expects to raise around A$30 billion in the sale of its remaining 51.8 percent of shares in the company. The estimate is based on a share price of A$5.25, which is much higher than shares in Telstra have been trading recently.

The government denied that their statement on how much they hope to realize from the sale means that they have set a price for the shares, which are set to be offered next year.

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