PARIS: France Tйlйcom said Friday that it was in exploratory talks to acquire the Nordic telecommunications company TeliaSonera

The French company stressed that formal negotiations had not yet started and that it had not given itself a deadline to close a deal.

France Tйlйcom pledged to continue to increase its dividend, which was a source of concern for investors, but said it was possible that it might not meet its main debt target this year if it secured a deal.

“It would be a balance of cash and debt,” France Tйlйcoms finance director, Gervais Pellissier, told a conference call with journalists about the financing of the possible acquisition, “which has not yet been determined.”

The Swedish governments sale of TeliaSonera, with a market value of 223.2 billion kronor, or $37.7 billion, would be a “strategic opportunity” and the companies are complementary, Pellissier added.

Buying TeliaSonera would be France Tйlйcoms biggest deal since it bought Orange for 27.8 billion, or $55.1 billion, in 2000.

Since Le Figaro reported on Wednesday that France Tйlйcom could acquire TeliaSonera, analysts have criticized the deal, saying it would not create much in the way of savings, sending the shares spiraling. The French companys shares fell 11 percent in the two days after Le Figaro reported the plans.

“Im rather flabbergasted,” said Jankees Ruizeveld, a manager at Robeco Group in Rotterdam. “I dont think anyone can make a good case for this.”

TeliaSonera shares climbed Friday as much as 2.55 kronor, or 5.1 percent, to 52.25 kronor, the highest level since Feb. 7.

France Tйlйcom spent more time studying TeliaSonera than other potential takeover targets because it has a shareholder that wants to sell, Pellissier said. Sweden holds 37.3 percent of TeliaSonera and wants to divest the stake.

“There really are quite a few things for sale that are better” added Ruizeveld at Robeco Group. He cited Tele2, Millicom International Cellular and Orascom Telecom as potential purchase targets. Millicom rose 22 kronor, or 4 percent, to 577 kronor.

Tele2 rose 0.2 percent to 123 kronor in Stockholm. The stock earlier climbed as much as 3.7 percent.

In a statement on Friday, France Tйlйcom defended the project, saying the two companies shared a common strategic vision of the sector and both had accomplished a significant transformation of their business models.

PARIS: France Tйlйcom said Friday that it was in exploratory talks to acquire the Nordic telecommunications company TeliaSonera

The French company stressed that formal negotiations had not yet started and that it had not given itself a deadline to close a deal.

France Tйlйcom pledged to continue to increase its dividend, which was a source of concern for investors, but said it was possible that it might not meet its main debt target this year if it secured a deal.

“It would be a balance of cash and debt,” France Tйlйcoms finance director, Gervais Pellissier, told a conference call with journalists about the financing of the possible acquisition, “which has not yet been determined.”

The Swedish governments sale of TeliaSonera, with a market value of 223.2 billion kronor, or $37.7 billion, would be a “strategic opportunity” and the companies are complementary, Pellissier added.

Buying TeliaSonera would be France Tйlйcoms biggest deal since it bought Orange for 27.8 billion, or $55.1 billion, in 2000.

Since Le Figaro reported on Wednesday that France Tйlйcom could acquire TeliaSonera, analysts have criticized the deal, saying it would not create much in the way of savings, sending the shares spiraling. The French companys shares fell 11 percent in the two days after Le Figaro reported the plans.

“Im rather flabbergasted,” said Jankees Ruizeveld, a manager at Robeco Group in Rotterdam. “I dont think anyone can make a good case for this.”

TeliaSonera shares climbed Friday as much as 2.55 kronor, or 5.1 percent, to 52.25 kronor, the highest level since Feb. 7.

France Tйlйcom spent more time studying TeliaSonera than other potential takeover targets because it has a shareholder that wants to sell, Pellissier said. Sweden holds 37.3 percent of TeliaSonera and wants to divest the stake.

“There really are quite a few things for sale that are better” added Ruizeveld at Robeco Group. He cited Tele2, Millicom International Cellular and Orascom Telecom as potential purchase targets. Millicom rose 22 kronor, or 4 percent, to 577 kronor.

Tele2 rose 0.2 percent to 123 kronor in Stockholm. The stock earlier climbed as much as 3.7 percent.

In a statement on Friday, France Tйlйcom defended the project, saying the two companies shared a common strategic vision of the sector and both had accomplished a significant transformation of their business models.

If you ask average South Koreans if they invest in stocks, the answer may be no. But if you ask if they are in tujashintak, the Korean version of mutual funds, most will give you a resounding yes.

“I am not really cut out for money-making, so I decided to invest indirectly in stocks through this product,” said a housewife in Seoul who would give only her last name, Jang, to protect her familys confidentiality. “One-twentieth of my salary goes to the fund every month, and the idea is to set aside the money and then forget about it.”

This laissez-faire attitude toward investing is helping shape one of the most mature and resilient equity markets in Asia, experts on Asian stocks say.

Today in South Korea, more than 50 percent of households subscribe to the program, wherein a set amount of money is deducted monthly from a savings account and channeled into a stock fund. In just a few years, such regular savings programs, or RSPs, went from a trickle of money to a steady torrent as the number of accounts rose to 11 million last summer from just 2.3 million in 2005.

When the U.S. credit crisis began to shake stock markets worldwide, more Koreans hastened to buy into the savings programs. Since July, the number of RSP accounts has kept growing, hitting 15.2 million in January. Assets rose from 64.4 trillion won, or $64.6 billion, from 38 trillion won last summer.

“Investors, particularly retail investors, were not spooked by the bearish stock market,” said Youngmin Kim, head of research at the Asset Management Association of Korea, which compiled the accounts data. “Instead, they felt that the bearish stock market is a perfect time to purchase funds.”

South Koreans newfound belief in long-term stock investing, experts say, reflects a new culture.

“The equity culture in Korea is undergoing changes that could be described as the most meaningful in its history,” said Cheol Seong Lee, chief marketing officer at Mirae Asset Investments, the leading manager of mutual funds in South Korea, with about 30 percent market share.

Jaechil Kim, a researcher at Korea Securities Research Institute in Seoul, agreed. “Before 2002, the mutual fund market in Korea was premature,” Kim said. “Most investors invested in stocks directly, but now they invest through a mutual fund. That is a big change in Korea.”

It was individuals savings that sustained the stock rally in South Korea from 2006 through to mid-2007, said Yoshimi Takahashi, representative of E*Trade Korea in Seoul. “Share prices rose sustainably, and since the beginning of last year, more investors began piling in to participate directly to the market in a big way.”

The rest of Asia is playing catch-up, said Henry Chan, a fund manager at Baring Asset Management in Hong Kong. “It is not only in Korea, but Asia in general: You have a lot of savings built up almost everywhere, be it Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia, Singapore,” he said. “So the more local money is going into the local equity markets. And it is reflected by Asian fund managers themselves. In the old days, you take the long haul to the U.S. and to Europe to do the marketing, but more and more, Asian fund managers are doing marketing across the region.”

By contrast, since the subprime loan crisis began to rock the markets in Japan, sending the Nikkei index tumbling nearly one-third from around 18,000 in August, individuals left the market in droves, resulting in a net selling in 2007 of shares worth 2 trillion, or about $20 billion. The share of Tokyo Stock Exchange trading volume from individuals dropped to 26 percent, from 38 percent two years ago.

Joong Hyun Kim, a market strategist at Goodmorning Shinhan Securities in Seoul, said individuals owned 25 percent of the listed South Korean shares, up from about 15 percent four to five years ago. While they do the buying, foreigners have been doing selling.

Being the only steady purchasers, individuals stock ownership will climb higher, Kim said, and that could put a reliable floor to the faltering South Korean market. “I think the credit risk of the American financial market has most been reflected in the current Korean market, which is near the bottom level,” he said.

Steady household money flowing into the market has not only limited the downside in South Korea but has smoothed out the big swings that have characterized other Asian markets.

“With the money continuously flowing into the market, that is one factor that has reduced market volatility,” Kim said. “And that money stays in the market longer. This habitual investment in stock is now a key factor in the Korean stock market.”