Telstra holds Asia-Pacific talks with BT

Telstra, Australia's biggest telephone company, is in talks with British Telecom (BT) on forging an alliance to tackle the Asia-Pacific telephone market.

The group was talking to BT and other international players about joining forces, Telstra spokesman Michael Hogan said yesterday.

'We are looking at opportunities in the Asia-Pacific area, we have been positioning ourselves for some time,' Mr Hogan said.

'As part of our focus, we are in discussions and BT is one of the groups we are talking to.' Telstra's director of strategic planning and development Peter Abery said: 'We have had, and expect to have, a range of discussions with BT as well as other major players in our industry with a view to forming an alli-ance.

'We have had a relationship with BT for many years and clearly there has been contact at a senior level from time to time.' An alliance between Telstra and BT would give the two a powerful leverage into the Asia-Pacific telecommunications market, which is one of the fastest growing in the world.

Last year, BT joined forces with US telecommunications giant MCI in a A$22 billion (about HK$132.44) merger to become a dominant force in the trans-Atlantic market but has yet to form a significant strategic alliance in Asia.