The centrifugal forces tearing the Soviet Union apart have spread to East Germany’s computer and office systems giant VEB Kombinat Robotron and the desire of the Kombinat’s chief, Friedrich Wokurka to organise it as a holding company with a string of subsidiaries is likely to be pre-empted by events. The Smmerda former Erica printer, word processor and electronic typewriter company, which has teamed up with Aqurius Inc of Taiwan on personal computers, is proposing to turn itself into an independent company with most of the shares held by its 11,000 employees. The measurement equipment subsidiary, Robotron Messelektronik, which has signed a joint venture agreement with Philips NV, opened a plant to make circuit boards for the entire Robotron group, and says that it will have to break away and sign joint venture agreements with foreign firms. It aims to offer 40% of the shares to the East German public, 10% to employees, leaving 50% free to be offered to joint venture partners.
