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Telstra called in to block Chinese telco bid

John Kehoe, Andrew Tillett, Lucas Baird and Ronald Mizen

Updated Jul 15, 2021 – 5.01pm, first published at 4.02pm

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The federal government has approached Telstra and other commercial businesses to sound out their interest in potentially taking an ownership stake in the Pacific operations of a telecommunications business to block China from buying the assets.

The national security committee of cabinet has been considering the implications of Digicel, including its Papua New Guinea assets, potentially being sold to a Chinese entity.

John Kehoe is economics editor at Parliament House, Canberra. He writes on economics, politics and business. John was Washington correspondent covering Donald Trump’s first election. He joined the Financial Review in 2008 from Treasury.

Andrew Tillett writes on politics, foreign affairs, defence and security from the Canberra press gallery.

Lucas Baird is a journalist based in The Australian Financial Review's Sydney office.

Ronald Mizen is the Financial Review’s political correspondent, reporting from the press gallery at Parliament House, Canberra.