The Ministry of Information Industry approved a joint venture between China United Telecommunications Corp and SK Telecom Co, South Korea's largest mobile phone operator, Beijing Youth Daily said yesterday.

The joint venture, with a registered capital of US$6 million, will help China Unicom to provide faster Internet access than current technology allows and more contents for Unicom's subscribers of its code-division multiple access network, or CDMA, the newspaper said.

The joint venture was actually agreed by the two firms in March, with China Unicom retaining a 51 percent stake and SK Telecom holding the balance.

Foreign firms are not allowed to provide mobile telecom services until 2006, under China's World Trade Organization commitment.

China Unicom is the country's second largest mobile phone firm and only CDMA operator with 14.65 million users.

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