MITTAL SAD ABOUT 'RACIST' REACTION TO ARCELOR BID The Tocqueville Connection, February 19, 2006
http://www.adetocqueville.com/200602191927.k1jjr5c09462.htm Lakshmi Mittal, head of Netherlands-based Mittal Steel, has said he is "very sad" about what he called "racist" remarks made about his bid to take over European steel maker Arcelor. "I felt very sad about all these comments," the Indian-born billionaire told private NDTV television network in an interview broadcast late Sunday. "I feel sad about the whole outburst and emotions among politicians and various leaders," he said. After initially maintaining that prejudice was not an issue, Mittal eventually relented: "The way it has been portrayed and the way comments have been made by politicians, it can be construed as a racist feeling." Mittal launched a surprise 18.6-billion-euro (22.3-billion-dollar) hostile bid for Arcelor in January in an attempt to create a steel giant that would control about 10 percent of the global market. Arcelor has rejected the bid and has enlisted the help of European governments to fight the takeover. The Luxembourg-based company is composed of formerly national steel interests from France, Luxembourg and Spain, but also has activities in Belgium. France, Spain and Luxembourg have opposed the takeover, while Belgium has remained neutral and Britain supports Mittal. Indian Trade Minister Kamal Nath last week accused European governments opposing the bid of discrimination. "This is an era of globalisation, crossborder investment and liberalisation, not one in which investors are judged by the colour of their skin in breach of ... national treatment rules," Nath told the Financial Times in an interview. Mittal said he was confident that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would raise the issue in talks with visiting French President Jacques Chirac, but said opposition to the bid was more than just a challenge for his company. "This is not an issue of Lakshmi Mittal. It is a much larger issue," he said. "If a company like ours faces resistance for merger, it could affect businessmen in India who are aspiring to expand globally." Chirac said in an interview with the India Today weekly magazine ahead of his visit that Mittal's takeover of Arcelor was not in the European firm's best interests. The French leader said the European opposition to the takeover has "nothing to do with Mr Mittal... it has nothing to do with France and India". Previous stories in same thread: WTO head Lamy notes 'foreign' aspect of Mittal bid for Arcelor (Wednesday, 15 February 2006 20:12:00 GMT) Arcelor would consider all-cash bid by Mittal Steel: CEO (Wednesday, 15 February 2006 19:04:00 GMT) --------------------------------- What are the most popular cars? Find out at Yahoo! Autos -- This is ZESTGlobal. Post articles on international affairs to [email protected] If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTGlobal by sending a blank mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTGlobal/join/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTGlobal/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
