b. London

c. Tokyo

d. Hong Kong

2 What is one of the requirements a company must meet before delisting from the stockmarket?

a. 50 per cent of the shareholders must support privatisation

b. more than half of the shareholders physically present at the shareholders' meeting must be in favour of the deal

c. the buyers must be delisted as well

d. the stock price cannot be under 30 per cent

3 From which company is the shareholder who split his shares among his agents?

a. Qantas Airlines

b. McDonald's

c. Fortis Insurance

d. PCCW

4 Including the most recent case, how many times has PCCW attempted to go private?

a. one

b. two

c. three

d. four

5 Which of the following is NOT a competitor of PCCW?

a. i-CABLE

b. Hutchison Whampoa

c. City Telecom

d. Motorola

Word power

Match the following words with their meanings below

1 watchdog

2 controversial

3 delist

4 rig

5 scupper

6 preside (over)

a. something that sparks strong views from opposite sides

b. to remove a company from the stock exchange; to 'go private'

c. an organisation that monitors and reports on the conduct of other organisations

d. to oversee

e. to spoil a plan

f. to arrange something dishonestly so it goes in your favour; to manipulate

Think about

1 Should the privatisation plan have been approved?

2 What are the pros and cons of privatisation?

3 Do you think share-splitting is fair?

Answers on page 11 next Monday