La britannica P&O, uno dei maggiori operatori mondiali di strutture portuali, si e' messa in vendita. Fra i possibili acquirenti, vi sono- ironicamente? - due prodotti dell'Impero britannico: gli operatori (statali) dei porti di Singapore e Dubai (amche il magigor operatore del mercato, Hutchison, era originariamente una societa' inglese basata ad Hong Kong) :
"The scene seems set for a high-stakes engagement between the Arabs and the South-East Asians. DP might hope that European regulators object to PSA’s bid on the ground that it and P&O are the lone operators of the container terminal at Antwerp, one of the continent’s busiest ports. But whichever bid succeeds, it will mark the end of the British maritime might that built an empire. Back when Britannia still ruled the waves, the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (as P&O was then known) provided a vital link between Britain and its overseas possessions."Come magra consolazione, entrambi i pretendenti sono entrambi prodotti dell'Impero: Singapore e Dubai, come citta', praticamente non esistevano fino al diciannovesimo secolo, quando vennero scelti per la costtruzione di basi e porti per l'espandione delle rotte commerciali britanniche : in questo senso, e' vero che l'Impero colpisce ancora...
DP has promised to keep P&O’s headquarters in London and also to retain the firm’s loss-making ferry service across the English Channel—the last vestige of P&O’s once vast fleet of vessels. If PSA wins, the future of the ferry service is uncertain. However, those sorry that an historic British firm is set for a foreign takeover should draw some comfort from the fact that the two suitors are themselves products of Britain’s imperial legacy, and mightily successful ones at that.
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