Shares in Telkom, majority-owned by the government, were up 5.48% at 15:27 CAT, after it reported that half-year adjusted headline earnings per share grew by 57.5%.

This was after excluding $8.85 million in restructuring costs and a 618 million rand cost of switching its Telkom Retirement Fund from a defined benefit to a defined contribution funding arrangement.

Telkom, which owns a big chunk of the fast-growing home and business fibre market, last year wanted to list the business separately or sell a minority stake in it to unlock more value but now wants to keep it.

"We have suspended any discussions or investigations into partnerships for Openserve," Taukobong said during a results call.

"We stayed very firm on our decisions as an infrastructure company and I think you're seeing the results there."

--Reuters--