Siemens, Alstom both able to compete, EU's Vestager says

[January 23, 2019]   BERLIN (Reuters) - The rail divisions of Siemens <SIEGn.DE> and Alstom <ALSO.PA> are world champions and are both able to compete in the market, the European Union's Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager told Die Zeit newspaper, signaling scepticism over a planned merger of their rail businesses.

"We are talking about two great companies that are able to compete in the market", Vestager was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

Vestager also said that the rail signaling business was very sensitive with regards to security, Die Zeit added.

(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; editing by Thomas Seythal)

[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.