from the Wall Street Journal
Dow Jones Newswires -- January 20, 1998
Metromedia Intl's China JVs To Be In Svc By End Of 1Q
BEIJING (Dow Jones)--Two of Metromedia International Group Inc.'s
(MMG) joint-venture telephone systems in China are expected to be in
service by the end of the first quarter, company executives said Tuesday.
The company's joint-venture local and long distance telephone systems in Chongqing and Chengdu, the capital of China's western Sichuan province, will become the first provincial phone network that is independent of China's government-backed telecommunications network, the company said.
In May 1996, Metromedia, through its Asian American Telecommunications Corp. unit, signed an agreement with China Unicom to invest in the Chongqing and Chengdu projects. The Chongqing project is valued at $29 million and its Chengdu project is valued at $29.8 million.
In September 1996, Metromedia signed a $29.5 million agreement with
China Unicom to construct a GSM network in Ningbo located in China's
eastern Zhejiang province.
Metromedia executives wouldn't specify how soon the company expects to see positive returns on its Chinese investments.
'We're, at this point in time, more interested in helping finance a system for China Unicom to get service started in (Chongqing and Chengdu),' said Max Bobbitt, president of Metromedia Asia Corp. 'A return of capital in a short period of time is unrealistic.'
'Over time we will get a reasonable return,' he added.
Metromedia officials said the company is also ready to get involved in China's CDMA mobile phone network and other telecommunications
projects.
Stuart Subotnick, president and chief executive of Metromedia International, said the company is also looking at bringing to China services that it currently provides in the U.S.
Possibilities include interactive kiosks. In the U.S., Metromedia provides interactive kiosks that run government services, allowing users to accomplish such tasks as registering their cars, finding jobs or paying traffic tickets. Subotnick said the company is researching whether it can apply the technology to China, possibly for manufacturers to sell goods.
Metromedia International is a global communications, media and
entertainment company based in New York.
-By I-Chun Chen; 8610 6532-6652; ichen@ap.org
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