Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Zambian opposition leader Michael Sata said he will sell state assets in banking, mining and telecommunications if he is elected president.

The Patriotic Front leader denied a report that he will force foreign companies to give 25 percent of their shares to local investors. His plan is for the government to divest its stakes in companies such as Zambia Telecommunications Co. and Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Ltd., or ZCCM, by selling a quarter to workers, 24 percent to customers and restricting private investors to a 51 percent share, Sata said in an interview at his home in the capital, Lusaka, today.

Sata, 71, is facing ruling party candidate Rupiah Banda in today's presidential election, called to elect a replacement for the late President Levy Mwanawasa, 59, who died in office on Aug. 19. Agence France-Presse reported on Oct. 15 that Sata told a campaign rally he would force foreign companies to give up 25 percent stakes in their Zambian operations to local investors and revoke their licenses to operate if they refused.

``That's not what I said. I was talking about parastatals,'' Sata said today. ``The plan is that 25 percent will come from government to workers, 24 percent also from government to account holders, so that will liquidate the government's holding completely.'' The rest will be sold to ``other people with money.''

Zambia is Africa's biggest copper producer. Vedanta Resources Plc of India and Glencore International AG own mines with ZCCM. Other state-owned companies include Zambia Electricity Supply Corp., Zambia State Insurance Corp. and Zambia National Commercial Bank Plc.

Chinese Investors

Sata campaigned in elections in 2006 to restrict foreign investors from China. His reported comments last week to force companies to sell stakes raised concern amongst foreign investors and was seen as a tactic to win more support amongst mainly poor and unemployed young people.

Sata has a history of making comments that unnerve investors, Leon Myburgh, Africa strategist at Citigroup Inc. in Johannesburg, said in a television interview with Bloomberg yesterday. ``Back in 2006, we saw the kwacha depreciate meaningfully because of remarks he made about foreign nationals.''

Sata said he didn't want to restrict foreign investment in Zambia, though investors should ``respect'' workers' rights.

``As much as we value foreign investors, they must respect the Zambian people,'' Sata said. ``They should not use cheap labor or slave conditions for the Zambian people. The Zambian people created the peaceful environment which attracted the foreign investors to come and invest in Zambia.''

A poll last week by the Steadman Group, a Nairobi-based market research company, said Sata will probably win with 40 percent of the vote, compared with 29 percent support for Banda. The survey polled 1,062 people between Oct. 10 and Oct. 15 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

To contact the reporters on this story: Nasreen Seria in Lusaka, Zambia on nseria@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 30, 2008 06:27 EDT