31.   Five of the six newcomers are technocrats, little known to the general public, and none belong to the centre-left and social-democratic opposition.

32.   The other newcomer to the cabinet was Jonathan Aitken, who replaced Portillo as Treasury Chief Secretary after a stint at the Defence Ministry.

33.   The three newcomers will back up big-serving Marc Rosset.

34.   The three newcomers are expected to focus on specific market niches when they start up later this year, while Hongkong Telephone will continue to dominate residential telephone services.

35.   The two newcomers will therefore have influence over rulings as they will now have the right to vote at meetings.