Economy and Finance Minister Giorgos Alogoskoufis may have given the green light this week to a joint management scheme for OTE Telecom, the country's main operator, bringing together the government and Deutsche Telekom (DT), but reliable sources insist that some doubts about the deal still linger.

The reason is that the goodwill benefits from the entry of the Germans into OTE goes to Marfin Investment Group, the buyout fund that sold its 20 percent stake to DT last month, while the government is conceding an important part of the management without any substantial financial gain.The political cost of the deal may also have been underestimated, according to some analysts.

DT itself is closely following developments, as it is investing a considerable sum in OTE which, evidently, it would not have paid had it not received some guarantees. Indeed, according to some sources, a visit by OTE officials to Bonn on March 25 may well have been connected with the deal.

But there is more. Besides OTE, DT is said to be closely following developments in the Siemens affair and its Greek aspects, wishing to have a full picture of the «environment» in which it is coming to invest.

Reports so far indicate that DT appears particularly happy with OTE's international activities, especially in the Balkans, but seems less so about the fixed-line market segment in Greece itself.

OTE's management, headed by Panagis Vourloumis, which has strived to improve the utility's operating standards in recent years, takes a positive view of the partnership with DT. Vourloumis in fact believes a concerted effort must be made for the deal with DT to be implemented.

The government, which now owns 28 percent of OTE and has said it wants to keep a 25 percent share, favors the deal for a number of reasons.

First, DT's entry will put an end to political interventions in the utility. Second, it is seen as facilitating OTE's operation within the regulatory framework and, third, OTE will boost its know-how and marketing strength.

In addition, it is believed that the partnership with DT will boost OTE's lobbying power in Brussels, at a time when the European Commission is seeking to increase its regulatory powers.