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Business Briefs

June 30, 2003

German government rules out imminent Telekom share sale; Finance Ministry teams up with Infineon on IT security; Deutsche Bahn to review discount fares.

https://p.dw.com/p/3nbB

Government rules out Telekom share sale - for now

The German government, struggling to keep next year's budget plan in line with the European Union's deficit rule, has said that contingency plans to sell part of its stake in Deutsche Telekom AG to investors won’t become a reality until the share price more than doubles, a Finance Ministry official in charge of state asset sales told Bloomberg.com on Monday. As part of a plan to boost its coffers, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's government will only consider selling some of the 31 percent stake it owns in the former state-owned phone monopoly should the shares rise from €13.47 ($15.38) now to “perhaps 30 or 40 euros,” said Eberhard Rolle, head of asset sales at the Finance Ministry, a state of affairs that is unlikely to happen until at least next year.

Ministry and Infineon sign cooperation agreement

German Minister of the Interior Otto Schily and Dr. Ulrich Schumacher, President and CEO of Infineon Technologies AG, signed an agreement of cooperation on Monday that will see the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Infineon Technologies work closely in the field of Information Technology (IT) Security. The 'Memorandum of Understanding', signed in Munich, aims to establish a basis for enhanced security levels in IT systems used in the civil service, in private companies and households. The ministry and Infineon has agreed to exchange information in three areas: the security aspect in the field of smart card technology, the security of future mobile applications, and the security components of personal computers and computer networks.

Deutsche Bahn to review discount strategy

Germany's state-owned railway, Deutsche Bahn AG, will probably reintroduce larger discounts for frequent passengers under a revision of its fare system, according to a report in the business daily Handelsblatt. The article, which cites unidentified executives at the company, states that Deutsche Bahn may return to a 50 percent discount for customers who hold the BahnCard discount card which currently offers a 25 percent reduction. Deutsche Bahn Chief Executive Hartmut Mehdorn will present proposed changes to the supervisory board on Wednesday.