PRESS DIGEST-Financial Times, Wall St Journal Asia editions

SINGAPORE, May 6 (Reuters) - The Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal carried the following stories in their Asia print and/or Web site editions on Tuesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

FINANCIAL TIMES (www.ft.com)

-- Bharti Airtel (BRTI.BO: Quote, Profile, Research), India's top mobile phone firm, has bid for 51 percent of South African telecommunications group MTN (MTNJ.J: Quote, Profile, Research), valuing the firm at $37 billion; it has secured $12 billion from banks to help finance the deal.

-- India is considering a blanket ban on trading in food futures, highlighting growing concerns in Asia over the role of hedge funds and financial market traders in the recent surge in commodity prices.

WALL STREET JOURNAL (www.wsj.com)

-- India's Bharti Airtel (BRTI.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) said it is in talks for a deal with MTN Group (MTNJ.J: Quote, Profile, Research) of South Africa, a wireless giant with a market capitalisation of about $38 billion, in what could create a mobile-telephone behemoth in the developing world.

-- One of Andy Warhol's large portraits of Mao Zedong is on sale for $120 million, a price experts believe would set a record for the American Pop artist. Christie's International is offering the work privately in Hong Kong, not as part of an auction.