FRANKFURT: Investors holding 41 percent of Deutsche Telekom shares have opted for a dividend payment in shares instead of cash, the German telecoms operator said on Wednesday.

As a result, 70 million new Deutsche Telekom shares will be issued and about 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) will be used to pay dividends in cash, Deutsche Telekom said in as statement.

Last year, investors holding about 49 percent of Deutsche Telekom took shares instead of cash as dividend payment.

Copyright Reuters, 2016