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Gold/Mining/Energy : TS TELECOM (www.tstelecom.com): ASPIRING TELECO -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: M. Merriam who wrote (849)	11/15/1999 3:50:00 PM
From: speculatingvalue	Respond to of 1762

Mike, that's great news. I know a lot of investors wouldn't touch Chinese stocks for fear the government might just nationalize the assets. I'm disappointed, though, if there isn't any other TOM related news.

To: M. Merriam who wrote (849)	11/16/1999 3:50:00 PM
From: speculatingvalue	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1762

China trade boom near for Canada After the landmark agreement between the United States and China, Canadian officials are hopeful of signing their own deal soon Peter Morton, with files from Ian Jack in Ottawa Financial Post WASHINGTON - Canada hopes to have its own trade agreement with China in hand later this month now that the United States and Chinese governments have signed a landmark deal that clears the way for the world's fastest growing economy to join the World Trade Organization. The deal hammered out yesterday between Charlene Barshefsky and Shi Guangsheng, China's foreign trade and economic development minister, lowers China's existing tariffs on goods, services and agriculture by an average 23%, and allows foreign banks and telecommunications companies greater freedom to offer services to China's 1.25 billion consumers. The U.S.-China agreement, which comes after 13 years of tortuous talks and six days of intense negotiations in China, also clears some of the obstacles still in the way of a final deal between Ottawa and Beijing. Talks are expected to be held next week when the Chinese foreign trade minister arrives in Canada. "This changes everything," said Fred Spoke, executive director of the Canada-China Business Council in Toronto. "It is exactly what we were looking for." Canadian and Chinese negotiators have already negotiated half a trade agreement dealing with goods, but now must put together the crucial services agreement as early as Nov. 30 when the next round of global trade talks are slated to begin in Seattle. "We are very confident negotiations between China and Canada can be finalized very shortly," said Pierre Pettigrew, the International Trade Minister, adding, "It will be far easier to conduct business once we have a bilateral agreement." A final agreement was reached between China and the United States after Zhu Ronji, China's prime minister, made a second "pivotal" visit to the negotiations in Beijing that appeared to be falling apart again. A tentative agreement worked out in April collapsed after the U.S. administration tried to extract some additional last-minute concessions. Canadian companies already operating in China, such as Bank of Montreal, said the U.S.-China deal should enhance their ability to do business in China. Bank of Montreal has two branches there, including its established operation in Beijing, handling only North American clients. "I think it's fantastic," said Soren Christensen, a bank senior vice-president. "If it happens, our ability to provide local currency financing will be brought forward." Robert Mao, president of Nortel Networks China, expects the agreement to boost sales of telecommunication equipment by foreign companies in the $7-billion (US) a year Chinese market. Nortel has sold about $120-million in wireless equipment to China's state-owned telecommunication company. With China a WTO member, said Nicholas Lardy, a China expert at Washington's Brookings Institution, it is also expected to make it easier for Western countries to bring about political reform in the last remaining communist country. "The U.S. has had zero ability to get concessions on human rights before," he said. "This agreement brings China more into the international community and puts more pressure on the government for reform." Ms. Barshefsky said China could be a full member of the WTO early next year once agreements with Canada and the European Union have been put together and a formal accession agreement is negotiated with other WTO members. The agreement calls for China to reduce its tariffs on agricultural goods to 14.5% and end any export subsidies. On industrial goods, foreign companies will be able to export to China without going through Chinese middlemen and China will also allow foreign ownership of initially up to 49% in telecommunications, rising to 50% after two years