If the South China Morning Post is right about Hutchison Whampoa Ltd being in negotiations to sell Hutchison Telecommunications (UK) Ltd to either the Deutsche Bundespost Telekom or Telstra Pty Ltd of Sydney (CI No 2,244), the first question that springs to mind is can either afford it? and the answer is that while the Australians probably can, Telekom has to turn over so much cash to keep unproductive German postal and postal bank workers in the manner to which they have become accustomed that it doesn’t have the cash to finance modernisation in eastern Germany, let alone indulge in foreign adventures; it would anyway be unlikely to move in without a partner, but if it is bidding, it seems likely to be simply so that it can very publically lose out through lack of the necessary cash, and turn round to the politicians and say now look what you’ve cost us by refusing to speed up privatisation.
