JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa’s government plans to offer a workaround of local Black ownership laws for Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service to operate in the country, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing three people familiar with the discussions.
The offer would come at a “last-minute” meeting planned for Tuesday night between South African officials and Musk or his representatives, Bloomberg said.
Musk, who is South African-born, has previously claimed Starlink was barred from operating in South Africa because he is not Black, an allegation South African officials refuted. South Africa’s telecoms regulator said in March that Starlink had not applied for a licence.
Musk’s assertion appeared to be taking a swipe at local Black Economic Empowerment rules, requiring foreign-owned telecommunications licencees to sell 30% of the equity in their local subsidiaries to historically disadvantaged groups.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and a delegation of government officials arrived in Washington on Monday in a bid to reset strained ties with the U.S.
Ramaphosa is scheduled to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday.
His spokesman Vincent Magwenya told Reuters on Monday that the issue of licencing for Starlink would be discussed during the U.S. visit.
(Reporting by Kritika Singh in Bengaluru and Bhargav Acharya in Johannesburg; Editing by Leroy Leo and Ros Russell)
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