Telefonica, the Spanish telecommunications group, has completed the acquisition of an additional 2 per cent stake in Chinese fixed line telecom operator China Netcom, taking its total stake in the Chinese firm to 5 per cent. This will cost Telefonica 418.3 million euro and give the Spanish group a seat on the China Netcom board of directors. Telefonica will also negotiate an agreement with China Netcom in areas including the joint purchase of equipment, network management systems and customer service arrangements.
