Credit key for Unicom shopping list
Thursday, December 16 10:40 AM SGT
URL: asia.dailynews.yahoo.com
Cash-strapped China Unicom is expected to rely on credit to build its CDMA (code division multiple access) mobile-phone network.
Unicom, the mainland's second-biggest operator, next month is expected to choose four or five telecommunications-equipment companies to
supply infrastructure to build the network.
The total value of the contracts could exceed US$16 billion, but Unicom has been described by analysts as being "broke", due to continued
wrangling with foreign investors and twice-delayed initial public offerings.
According to a source, many equipment vendors are willing to supply equipment on credit.
Twelve domestic and foreign vendors had bid for the contracts, but the successful applicants would probably be the ones offering credit terms, the
source said.
"That is definitely part of the deal," he said.
Peter Lovelock, of Maverick Research, said: "I would expect everyone to deny it . . . [but] it would have to be done on credit initially because
[vendors] want to get the CDMA network kick-started as quickly as possible."
Unicom had planned to raise $1.3 billion in capital through initial public offerings in Hong Kong and on the Nasdaq exchange in the United
States.
However, the operator first must buy out about 20 remaining foreign companies who invested in its existing GSM (global systems for mobile)
networks.
Beijing later deemed the so called China-China-foreign (CCF) deals "improper" and ordered Unicom to resolve them.
There has been a report that Unicom is willing to swap CCF investments in exchange for company shares, but one CCF partner said the operator
had not yet proposed such settlement terms.
According to sources, Unicom is attempting to sway CCF partners to sell out through the proposed creation of a company international advisory
board.
Former CCF partners would be given a seat on the board and allowed to attend meetings, but Unicom's intentions were not clear, sources said.
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Thursday, December 16 6:38 PM SGT
Guangdong Nortel Produces GSM-Cdma Wireless Products
URL: asia.biz.yahoo.com
GUANGZHOU, Dec 16 Asia Pulse - The Guangdong-Nortel TelecomEquipment Co., Ltd., the first local CDMA networking equipmentproducer
in China, has recently started producing GSM and CDMAwireless products.
Its GSM and CDMA wireless products production lines have anannual capacity of 2 million channels.
Guangdong-Nortel is a joint venture launched by NortelNetworking (China) Co., Ltd.
It had been engaged in the production of traditional circuitswitching exchanges until earlier this year when it wasapproved by the Chinese
authorities to produce DMS, GSM, CDMAand multimedia networking products.
The Nortel Networking and its Chinese partner have thusinjected US$37.5 million into the expansion project.
When the GSM and CDMA wireless products production linesbecome operational, the Nortel Network and Guangdong-Nortelwent on to sign a
CDMA technology certificate contract and an agreement on R&D of integrated products.
(XIC) |
