Local Bidders Withdraw

Two local bidders for Colombia’s state-owned fixed-line company, Colombia Telecom, have said they are withdrawing from the process. Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Bogotá and Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM), the largest public services provider in Colombia, said they were unable to make a “serious and reasonable offer” for Colombia Telecom in the face of competition from foreign firms such as Mexico’s Telmex, Telefónica de España and Venezuela’s CANTV. The only local bidder left in the running is cable provider Cablecentro.