Hutchison deny 3 Italy funding

December 3, 2003

Hutchison Whampoa Wednesday played down the financial situation in its subsidiary 3 Italia, saying the business was fully funded.

3 Italia CEO Vincenzo Novari yesterday said his firm may need further funding from Hutchison if the problem with handset shortage continues.

"3 Italy has no need for further funding. The company is fully funded," said Laura Cheung, a spokeswoman for Hutchison, responding to the comment from Novari.

Hutchison has ordered 6 million handsets from Japan's NEC but deliveries have been delayed due to software glitches. The delayed handsets are expected in the first quarter of 2004.

Earlier this year, 3UK asked for extra investment from its parent companies, which included Hutchison (65%), NTT DoCoMo (20%) and KPN (15%). KPN refused to provide the funding and its shares in 3UK were later bought by Hutchison.

If 3 Italia does ask for extra funding, it would be another blow to Hutchison which already has a string of setbacks in its 3G business. Novari believes Hutchison has the finance to meet 3 Italia's requirements.

Top Sellers at our online store

1.	NEC e606 on 3
2.	Orange Nokia 7250i
3.	O2 Samsung A800
4.	NEC e808 on 3
5.	Motorola A920 on 3

last updated: January 12, 2004

Visit our online store, click here

3 phones

3G Motorola A920
Available Now! Superb full colour touch- sensitive screen with a built-in digital camera for Video Calling.
Buy now from Free

M-Profits: Making Money from 3G Services
ISBN: 0470847751

This book discusses 3G services from the view of what is needed for the service to provide value to the user, what is the value proposition for the user, how will money be made out of delivering the service, and discussions on how revenue sharing propositions might work to benefit content providers and network operators. 3G operators should take note of this highly recommended book.

buy it UK | USA

Hutchison deny 3 Italy funding

3G Books to Read!