CITIC inks telecom pact with ChinaSat
( 2002-06-05 10:03 ) (1 )

China International Trust and Investment Corp (CITIC) and China Satellite Communications Corp (ChinaSat) signed an agreement last weekend to jointly explore China's telecom business, according to Ji Feng, spokesman for CITIC.

The two sides are still discussing details of the operation and a plan for future development, the spokesman said.

ChinaSat is a relatively minor telecom operator among China's six basic telecom carriers, but the company is the country's major satellite communications provider.

The move is a breakthrough for CITIC, which has been eyeing the telecom business in recent years. After years of development, CITIC has constructed broadband networks in many provinces. Its cable TV network links 7 million people and has the capability of covering 210 million people.

In the co-operation agreement, CITIC and ChinaSat will link the networks in the sky and on the ground to form a more powerful and wider net coverage.

With the emergence of a more powerful telecom provider, the market will become more competitive.

CITIC has been active in telecom-related operations, but it has yet to get a licence from the Ministry of Information Industry to provide fixed-line, mobile or other basic telecom services.

Mergers, acquisitions and co-operation have thus become its only path to the basic telecommunications business.