TILTING AT IVORY TOWERS
"We are a flag for spain," said Luis Solana, chairman of Telefonica, the state-controlled telecommunications company, one of the country's highest-rated international borrowers. "We have to proceed very carefully. We cannot afford a disaster in the US. It is a risk not just for Telefonica but for the country."
Telefonica is aiming to obtain a listing in New York by the first quarter of 1987. This year it floated shares in London, Frankfurt, Tokyo -- where it is the most actively traded foreign share -- and Paris, after outgrowing the Madrid exchange. Telefonica is the star performer in Madrid, enjoying a rise of 128% in the first five months of this year; it now accounts for about one sixth of all trading.
Solana laughed at suggestions that the timing of Telefonica's entry to New York would be connected to the outcome of talks on reducing the number of US troops in Spain. "New York is the final step on the road we started three years ago," he said.
German Ramajo, Telefonica's chief financial officer, said: "Our approach is classic. New York offers us the opportunity to receive dollars more cheaply than anywhere else."