Deutsche Bundespost Telekom needs to be privatised by 1994 to enable it to compete better with European rivals, Telekom chairman Helmut Ricke told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper, adding that Telekom is greatly overgeared, with equity capital set to fall to 24% of its total capital base this year, compared with 65% at British Telecommunications Plc: he said that Telekom needed debt to equity ratio of at least 60:40 to enable it to be internationally competitive and take advantage of the opening markets in Eastern Europe – There is no sign of a cash injection from the government, he added; Ricke said the only prospect he could see of raising more funds would be flotation, which could be completed in 1994.
