Siemens To Decide On Handsets By End Jan - Handelsblatt

BERLIN -(Dow Jones)- Siemens AG (SI) aims to make a decision on the future of its hard-pressed handset business by the end of January, the Handelsblatt newspaper reported Wednesday, citing an interview with the company's chief executive.

"I hope that we can say something on this at the annual shareholder meeting on Jan. 27," CEO Heinrich von Pierer is quoted as saying in a pre-release of an article to appear Thursday.

Siemens - the world's fourth-largest handset maker - is considering all options for the mobile phone business, including restructuring, closing, selling or shunting it into a cooperation, Von Pierer told Handelsblatt.

On speculation that Siemens could sell the handset business and leave the buyer with the Siemens brand name, von Pierer said: "The Siemens brand is a valuable one. We treat it very carefully."

The Munich-based company's handset business generated sales of almost EUR5 billion and a loss of EUR152 million in the 2004 fiscal year.

Company Web site: http://www.xxx

-Berlin Bureau; Dow Jones Newswires; +49 30 2888 410; djnews.berlin@dowjones.com

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Posted to the site on 29th December 2004