IBM takes stand on Olivetti crisis

The president of IBM Europe has called on the Italian government to refrain from bailing out ailing PC maker Olivetti.

IBM Europe president Lucio Stanca - himself an Italian - said that the Italian government should not favour one PC vendor over another.

'As a taxpayer and as a competitor I will be very upset if I see the Italian government put money in one way or another to help Olivetti,' he said.

Stanca added that any preferential treatment given to Olivetti would put other manufacturers at a disadvantage.

'A job at Olivetti in Italy has the same value as a job at IBM in Italy,' he said.

The high-profile intervention will put further pressure on the Italian government, whose technology flagship continues to lose money and has also seen the resignation of its chairman and chief executive.

Opinion is divided among Italian politicians about what assistance, if any, they should offer Olivetti.

Olivetti is expected to appoint an independent board member to head off criticism from foreign institutional investors. The manufacturer's new director is expected to be Dario Trevisan, a lawyer based in Milan.

The management of the company is due to address institutional investors in London this week.