Li to host Murdoch talks
technology.scmp.com
Rupert Murdoch will meet Pacific Century CyberWorks
chairman Richard Li Tzar-kai in Hong Kong next week
to discuss the future of the Star TV-Cable & Wireless
HKT pay-television joint venture.
Confirmation of Mr Murdoch's visit came as both sides
expressed willingness to co-operate, raising the
prospects that the venture will go ahead as planned.
The future of the Star-HKT project has come into
question following Mr Li's victory this week in the
takeover battle for HKT.
CyberWorks' plans to create a pan-Asian broadband
Internet service puts it in direct competition with Star
TV, a unit of Mr Murdoch's News Corp.
Mr Murdoch backed rival bidder Singapore
Telecommunications (SingTel) with a US$1 billion
commitment and was quoted this week in the Financial
Times as saying Mr Li had made "no secret he would
screw us out of the partnership with HKT".
However, Mr Li said yesterday: "We have information
that News Corp still wants to talk on this topic. We are
quite open-minded."
Asked to respond to Mr Murdoch's comment, he said:
"Mr Murdoch might have been very angry [when he
said that] but I choose to forget it."
Mr Li said the future of the venture would be decided
purely on commercial grounds and CyberWorks might
even expand its co-operation with News Corp if it
benefited shareholders.
He also held out an olive branch to defeated HKT
bidder SingTel, saying: "We competed before, but that
doesn't mean we can't co-operate in the future."
Star TV confirmed that Mr Murdoch would visit Hong
Kong next week. Sources from both parties suggested a
meeting was likely on Tuesday but declined to
elaborate.
The two men have a business history stretching back to
1993, when News Corp bought the fledgling Star TV
from Mr Li. The satellite TV operator has yet to turn a
profit.
Mr Li met Mr Murdoch's son James - who has taken
over as Star TV co-chairman following the surprise
resignation of Gareth Chang Cheng-chung - on
Wednesday.
In a further sign that it is still alive, the Star-HKT venture
yesterday named nine-year News Corp veteran Tom
Mockridge as its chief executive.
Mr Mockridge was previously the chief executive of
Foxtel, an Australian pay-TV operator 25 per cent
owned by News Corp.
Star TV deputy chief executive Bruce Churchill said Mr
Mockridge's appointment confirmed the joint venture
was going ahead.
"We're sticking to our original schedule, and are
planning for a soft launch of our service during the
summer and a full launch in the [autumn]," Bloomberg
quoted Mr Churchill as saying.
The venture, 60 per cent owned by HKT and 40 per
cent by Star, was formed last October with plans to
offer interactive television, Internet access, and
e-commerce services.
HKT chief executive Linus Cheung Wing-lam said he
was confident the venture would not be still-born.
Mr Cheung also said he would be happy to work with
Mr Li, scotching rumours that he had resigned on
Wednesday.
"We hope to keep all senior management in place. We
definitely hope Linus will stay," said Mr Li.
Mr Li rejected suggestions CyberWorks would have to
sell off parts of HKT due to the high amount of debt it
was taking on in the merger.
He said CyberWorks had more than US$2 billion in
cash and HKT US$2 billion.
"We have no need to do a leveraged buyout or break
the company into pieces," Mr Li said.
Doubts over the Star-HKT joint venture failed to
dampen News Corp's share price yesterday. The
company's stock market value climbed above A$100
billion (HK$470.03 billion), a milestone for an
Australian company. |
