OLIVETTI Group chairman, Mr Carlo De Benedetti, resigned yesterday as chairman of the Italian industrial giant at an emergency board meeting.

The Olivetti share price has recently been under pressure on the Milan stock market due to rumours that some institutional shareholders wanted De Benedetti to step down.

Olivetti has cumulative losses of £1.6 billion since 1990 and has followed an ambitious recovery plan, accompanied by a recapitalisation. It is increasingly counting on telecommunications, having experienced difficulties in office automation and data processing.