Were telcos held hostage by FIFA in World Cup bid?
By Koh Hui Theng and Joanna Seow
July 30, 2010
SingTel CEO (Singapore) Allen Lew yesterday revealed that SingTel and StarHub "lost a couple of million dollars each".
But it was something that had to be done. The consequences of missing out on the World Cup would have been "disastrous", he told The New Paper in an interview yesterday.
But did we pay too much for the World Cup, since the telcos ended up losing money? Were they held hostage by Fifa's exorbitant demands?
"Hostage is too strong a word," Mr Lew replied. "At the end of the day, as commercial entities, it takes two people to agree on a particular price that makes sense.
When asked what this amount was, Mr Lew said: "I'm sorry, I really can't tell you," citing confidentiality clauses.