DEBIS Fleet Management - a subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler Services - has signed a $773 million outsourcing deal with South Africa's state-controlled telephone monopoly, Telkom.

Debis will buy Telkom's 19,000-strong vehicle fleet and will then provide a full maintenance lease service to Telkom on a five-year contract basis.

Telkom chief executive officer Sizwe Nxasana said: 'By outsourcing our fleet to debis Fleet Management, which has considerable global experience in this field, Telkom will benefit from a significant cash injection and higher overall operational efficiencies due to better management focus.' Telkom's fleet operation was called FastFleet, and debis CFM will employ FastFleet's 526 employees. debis CFM won the contract ahead of 14 rivals via a tender process. (April 2000)