THE future does not appear so bright for mobile phone group Orange, just days away from its planned flotation on the London and Paris stock exchanges.

Parent company France Telecom yesterday slashed its expected share price by 17 per cent, in a bid to drum up more interest in the float.

The French giant had expected to float Orange at a value of 11.5 euros to 13.5 euros per share, equivalent to 733p to 860p-a-share, giving it a market value of between 54.8-55.2bn euros, or £35.2 and £41.3bn.

But yesterday France Telecom said this would reduce the price to between 9.5 euros and 11 euros a share (606p-702p), cutting its market value to between 45.6-52.8 billion euros - or £29.1-£33.7bn.

A total of 15 per cent of Orange, Darlington's biggest private sector employer with more than 2,000 staff at two call centres in the town, is being floated off by France Telecom.

When France Telecom bought Orange from Vodafone in August last year, it expected it to have a flotation value of about £100bn. Trading in the shares is due to begin on both sides of the Channel on Tuesday.

France Telecom blamed the move on "current difficult market conditions" and comes despite strong demand for the shares from private invest- ors.

Private investors are being offered a discount of about five per cent by Orange.

The minimum investment for private investors is £250 with no maximum level set. Would-be investors have until 4pm on Friday to apply.

Concerns about debt levels and fears that firms may not be able to make back their huge investment in the next generation of mobile phones have driven down share prices in many telecoms firms.

Investors are believed to be concerned about the level of debt in the telecoms market. It is believed more than £400bn has been loaned to the sector in recent years.