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To: Ruffian who wrote (10257)	5/17/2000 12:29:00 AM
From: LBstocks	Respond to of 13582

China Unicom growth target at $98b CHRISTINE CHAN Wednesday, May 17, 2000 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- China Unicom has a three-year expansion programme worth 104.8 billion yuan (about HK$98.08 billion) to capture a greater share of the mainland's telecom markets, according to a preliminary listing document. The expansion plans emerged as the mainland's second-largest carrier started a pre-marketing campaign for its dual listing in Hong Kong and New York. The company plans to launch an international roadshow for its initial public offering in the last week of this month, aiming to raise US$4 billion to US$5 billion. The offer - comprising international and public share tranches - is for 25 per cent of the company. The underwriting syndicate, led by China International Capital Corp and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, is lining up unidentified strategic investors for the much-anticipated flotation. The international share offer will end on June 15, to coincide with Hong Kong's public share offer, which starts on June 12. Pricing will be set on June 16. Trading in the company's shares will start on June 21 in New York, while trading in Hong Kong is expected the following day. The flotation is part of Beijing's attempts to turn China Unicom into a credible competitor to dominant China Telecom, after giving it priority to develop the CDMA (code division multiple access) mobile-phone network and granting it paging giant Guoxin Paging free of charge. Assets to be included in the listing vehicle, according to the document, are China Unicom's cellular businesses in 12 provinces and cities and the right to develop the CDMA network. Also to be floated are a 99.67 per cent stake in paging arm Guoxin Paging; a nationwide long-distance business, including its internet protocol (IP) telephony business; and a nationwide data and Internet business. According to the document, the carrier's next three-year plan would focus on the expansion of mobile-phone and data-communications services while developing long-distance operations and a fibre-optic transmission network. About 104.8 billion yuan will be needed. By the end of this year, China Unicom, which has a cellular subscriber base of 4.2 million, plans to boost its mobile-phone network capacity for up to 18.6 million users. Plans have been outlined to expand long-distance telephony services to cover 220 cities from 25; to extend the fibre-optic network to cover 128 cities from 25; and data services to cover 220 cities from 50 - all targets to be met by the end of this year, Data services will be expanded to include leased lines, frame relay and Internet services, according to the document. Over the past three years, the average annual compound growth of the mainland's cellular subscribers reached 77.6 per cent, paging subscribers 25 per cent and Internet users 64.8 per cent, because of the low penetration rate. China Unicom predicts that strong growth will continue. It also expects a growing migration of voice and data traffic from fixed to wireless networks and a rising demand for broadband, integrated telecom services due to the wider application of the Internet. However, it warned that intensified competition from big players might lead to falling subscriber numbers and lower revenue and that Beijing might scrap the preferential treatment it granted to the company. Most important of all, the mainland's telecom regulations might constrain its flexibility to respond to market conditions, the company said. scmp.com

To: Ruffian who wrote (10257)	5/17/2000 1:26:00 AM
From: LBstocks	Respond to of 13582

BEIJING? Mainland China is likely to become one of the largest mobile Internet markets in the world in the next few years, according to Kurt Hellstrom, president of Ericsson. Addressing students at the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, he said that by 2004, mobile phone users in the mainland would increase to 250 million from the present 55 million. Hellstrom said that by 2002, there will be have 1 billion mobile phone users worldwide, and by 2003, the number of mobile Internet users will exceed that of fixed Internet users. Ericsson China also signed a framework agreement with the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications to expand cooperation in the development of telecom, IP and mobile Internet markets in the next five years. Ericsson is working closely to cooperate with mainland Chinese counterparts to promote the development of telecommunications, investing more in R&D. Ericsson (China) and the China Academy of Telecommunications Technology (CATT), attached to the ministry of Information Industry, have also set up a W-CDMA R&D center in Beijing. globalsources.com