Turk Telekom says mulls bid for Kyrgyztelecom

ISTANBUL, July 17 (Reuters) - Turk Telekom TTKOM.IS said on Thursday it was considering bidding in a tender to buy a 78 percent stake in Kyrgyzstan monopoly Kyrgyztelecom and had formed a working group with Oger Telecom in this regard.

Kyrgyzstan said last month it planned to sell the 78 percent stake for at least $45 million.

A senior Kyrgyz official has said the first stage of the tender will take place on August 27.

In 2004, Germany's Detecon won a previous tender for the stake after offering $16.2 million. But the Central Asian state's parliament cancelled the deal, saying the price was too low.

Turk Telekom, which is controlled by Dubai-based Oger Telecom, was listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange in May when the government cut its stake to 30 percent by listing a 15 percent holding. (Reporting by Daren Butler; editing by Rory Channing)