Nairobi, Jan. 15 -- Kenyan banks have lobbied Parliament to have the government sell 300.4 million shares of Safaricom to the public and dispose of the other 5.7 billion shares to South Africa's Vodacom Group Limited, arguing that this will deepen the capital markets and broaden ownership of the telco.

The Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) on Thursday made submissions to the National Assembly's Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning as part of public hearings after the National Treasury signed a deal to sell six billion shares equivalent to a 15 percent stake in Safaricom to Vodacom at a price of Sh34 per share or a total of Sh204.3 billion.

Bankers say they support the transaction but want it amended so that a 0.75 perce...