In November 1999, the Swiss Finance Ministry confirmed that it was now free to reduce its 65.5% stake in the national telecoms carrier Swisscom AG to 50.5% because the one-year standstill agreement imposed at the time of its privatisation had expired.

But, in a rider all too typical of the Swiss privatisation programme, the ministry went on to stress that it could not give any clear indication of what it intended to do with the stake.