Egyptian mobile firm Orascom Telecom (OT) said on Thursday that it told the Algerian government it would negotiate with it over the possible sale of its Algerian unit Djezzy. 'In consequence of the latest speculation by Algerian ministers, we have sent a letter to the Algerian government stating that we will enter into negotiations with the Algerian government regarding the sale of OTA (Orascom Telecom Algeria),' Orascom spokeswoman Manal Abdel Hamid said. Algeria's government said on Wednesday it would not allow Egyptian group Orascom Telecom to sell its Algerian mobile phone unit Djezzy to South Africa's MTN. MTN shares in Johannesburg were up 6.1 per cent at 107.92 rand on the news, with traders responding to concerns that MTN could have diluted its value by going ahead with the acquisition. South African officials on Tuesday used a visit to Algiers by President Jacob Zuma to ask the Algerian authorities to let MTN establish a presence in the lucrative North African market by buying Djezzy. Algeria's government is blocking the Egyptian firm from selling the unit to MTN, a central component in a broader deal that, if it included all of Orascom Telecom's assets, would make MTN the world's third-biggest mobile phone operator. "The Algerian state holds to its right of pre-emption over the sale of Djezzy and will not allow its purchase by the South African firm MTN," Trade Minister Hachemi Djaaboub was quoted as saying by Algeria's official APS news agency.