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Technology Stocks : PCW - Pacific Century CyberWorks Limited -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ms.smartest.person who wrote (1740)	7/27/2001 11:13:08 PM
From: ms.smartest.person	Respond to of 2248

Telstra comfortable with Asia deals MELBOURNE: Telstra Corp Ltd, Australia's dominant telecoms group, said yesterday it can comfortably buy businesses in Asia to meet its goal of expanding in the region without upsetting its balance sheet. "It is clear there'll be a series of investments ahead of us that we can make and we know we have the capacity to do within our current cashflows, without unsettling the balance sheet," chief executive Ziggy Switkowski told reporters. Telstra's management has said it aims to make Asian business the source of 20% to 25% of the group's value within five years, and Switkowski estimated the company was about one-third of the way towards that target through its joint ventures with Pacific Century CyberWorks Ltd (PCCW) of Hong Kong. Telstra has invested US$2.43bil for its 60% stake in the CSL Hong Kong wireless business and its 50% stake in the Reach wholesale network joint venture. Switkowski said if PCCW, now under fire in the market, decided to alter its ownership role in either of those two joint ventures, it would not affect Telstra. "But if PCCW were to make alternative decisions, we would continue to own 60% of the (wireless) business and, with Hubert (Ng), help run it and we would be largely unaffected," he added. Switkowski said Telstra had all its bases covered for any change in the ownership of Reach, helped by a US$750mil note it bought from PCCW, which was paying close to a market rate of interest. The note was collateralised against the equity of Reach, which Switkowski described as an investment grade organisation. "If PCCW were to elect to take a different path going forward, we have rights and options etc. in a business that we like a great deal. . .and which has been configured with our help to be successful going forward," he said.--Reuters