SingTel-Deutsche deal off

SingTel-Deutsche deal off

SINGAPORE (AFP): A planned billion-dollar deal between
Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (SingTel) and Deutsche Telekom
has been effectively postponed due to opposition from the German
telephone giant's Malaysian partner, a report said on Wednesday.

The Malaysian unit, Technology Resources Industries Bhd.
(TRI), was against plans by Deutsche Telekom and SingTel to pool
their regional mobile resources, Singapore's Business Times
reported, without giving details of the objection.

SingTel had acknowledged previously that they were holding
talks with the German phone company but did not explicitly say
what the discussions were about, industry analysts said.

SingTel said on Wednesday the discussions were continuing.

"We have no comment on the report but we have said that we are
in discussions with Deutsche Telekom, and therefore the status
quo applies," SingTel spokesman Lim Seng Jin told AFP.