FOREIGN FIRMS HOPE TO JOIN JAPAN TELECOM COMPANY

  One of two rival firms seeking to enter
  Japan's international telecommunications market said it will
  offer a stake in the company to 10 foreign firms.
      President of &lt;International Telecom Japan Inc> (ITJ), Nobuo
  Ito, decline to specify what share the firms would take, but
  told Reuters they would not participate in its management.
      ITJ and &lt;International Digital Communications Planning Inc>
  (IDC), in which both Cable and Wireless Plc &lt;CAWL.L> and
  Pacific Telesis Group &lt;PAC.N> own 20 pct stakes, are set to
  merge into a new entity to compete against &lt;Kokusai Denshin
  Denwa Co Ltd> (KDD).
      The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications has urged the
  two rival firms to merge so KDD would have only a single
  competitor. The ministry has also rejected foreign management.
      Japan's law limits foreign ownership of any new
  international telecommunications entrant to 33 pct, so C and
  W's and Pacific's stakes could be three pct in the merged firm,
  sources said. Those seeking to join are General Electric Co
  &lt;GE.N>, Ford Motor Co &lt;F.N>, &lt;Citibank NA>, BankAmerica Corp
  &lt;BAC.NYSE>, &lt;Shearson Lehman Bros Inc>, &lt;Saloman Brothers>,
  &lt;Asia Boeing Computer Service>, Unisys Corp &lt;UIS.N>, &lt;Societe
  Generale> and Deutsche Bank AG &lt;DBKG.FRA>.
      The merger plan has been criticised for excluding foreign
  firms from a meaningful position in the market.
      The U.K.'s Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, U.S. Secretary
  of State George Shultz, U.S. Commerce Secretary Malcolm
  Baldrige and U.S. Trade Representative Clayton Yeutter have all
  expressed such opposition.
      Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone will draft a
  reply to the criticism following further discussion, a Posts
  and Ministry official said.
  

