European Press Roundup: Huawei CEO Speaks of Cold War, Telecom Italia Said to Be Eyeing Merger With Open Fiber

In Europe today, worse-than-expected Eurozone manufacturing data dampens stocks ahead of Easter holidays. The top business story: Swiss food-and-beverage giant Nestle posts above-expectations organic sales growth. Read about the above topics on Dow Jones Newswires or WSJ.com.

In Other Media...

In his first interview with German media, Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei criticized the United States and warned of a "new cold war." To avoid such a conflict, the west "must remain open and accept the rise of other countries," he said. Mr. Zhengfei criticized the U.S.'s stance on the global construction of 5G networks. "Unfortunately, the U.S. sees 5G technology as a strategic weapon. For them, it's a kind of nuclear bomb," he said. -Handelsblatt/Wirtschaftswoche

Telecom Italia isn't considering a spinoff of its network anymore, but it may be interested in a merger with Open Fiber, a smaller rival. -Il Sole 24 Ore

Irish food group Glanbia faces a number of large investors voting against its move to increase the salary of Chief Executive Siobhan Talbot by 22% and make it easier for top managers to receive bonus stock rewards. Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services, the two most influential advisers to major international investors on corporate-governance issues, have advised clients to reject the company's remuneration report at its annual general meeting next week. -The Irish Times

German broadcaster RTL believes its TV Now streaming service has "good chances" to become a competitor to global streaming platforms such as Netflix. "We want to be the German champion that connects television and streaming," RTL CEO Bernd Reichart says. "For us, TV stands for Total Video." -FAZ

Russian investment fund LetterOne has extended the deadline for Dia shareholders to accept its takeover bid for the struggling Spanish supermarket. Shareholders now have until April 30 to subscribe to the offer, a week later than the original deadline of April 23. -El Economista

French arms export rose 30% in 2018, the country's third best performance in 20 years. The sales amounted to between EUR9.1 billion and EUR9.2 billion. -La Tribune

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 18, 2019 08:12 ET (12:12 GMT)

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