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How long before the Hutchison sale to China Mobile can be unveiled?

by Sniffer | posted on 18 February 2007

It is the Chinese New Year. What possible effect can this have on mergers and acquisitions in the UK? And can this be connected with the party that JP Morgan is organising for Wednesday?

Study the auspices! No, this is not a Hunky Mouse fantasy - here's the horse's mouth, from the Shanghail Daily from last November:

Maternity hospitals in Shanghai have been busier than usual over the past few months as many young women try to have babies next year, an especially auspicious time according to the Chinese lunar calendar.

Not only is it the Year of the Pig, but it's one of those special Pig Years, when it coincides with the metal gold - and there's going to be a rash of births. Also, business announcements. So, is this why the takeover of '3' in the UK and Italy has not been announced, despite the original plans to rush it through before Christmas?

Apparently, yes. The deal has had all the wrong "feng shui" till now. When it was first expected, the announcement was judged ill-timed in China, because the planned date was a Friday, and awful feng shui applies to Fridays. And since then, it's been decided to hit this auspicious date.

So, if you get an invite to JPs for Wednesday night, take your Golden Bacon along. And if it doesn't happen this week, then it may never happen.

No, your Sniffer has not, alas, been invited...