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To: Dealer who wrote (32303)	9/8/2000 9:38:29 AM
From: Dealer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 35685

QCOM--(From Ruffian)--China Unicom To Sign Network JV Pact With HK Hutchison Dow Jones Newswires HONG KONG -- Mainland China's second-largest telecommunications operator China Unicom Ltd. (CHU) said Friday it plans to form a joint venture agreement with Hong Kong's Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. (H.HUW) on improving its mobile network and product distribution system. "We will sign an agreement with Hutchison today (Friday)," said Yang Xianzu, chairman and chief executive officer of Unicom. Yang declined to provide further details on the joint venture. At a press conference, the company said its mobile subscriber base has grown to more than 9 million at the end of August, from 8.31 million as of June 30. "It is expected to exceed our full year target" of 14 million, China Unicom President Wang Jianzhou said. As reported, Unicom posted a 37% fall in net profit to CNY171.2 million for the six months ended June 30, hit by a one-time loss of CNY1.194 billion for the compensation of "China-China-Foreign" ventures. These ventures, formed to skirt a government ban on foreign direct investment in the mainland telecoms market, were wound up at the government's order before the company's June 22 listing. Unicom has planned a target capital expenditure of CNY43.8 billion for 2000. It has already invested CNY12.5 billion, said Wang. It isn't going to make any investment in CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) technology itself, Yang said. Instead, China United Telecommunications Corp., parent of Unicom, which is in the progress of acquiring a narrow band CDMA network from the Chinese military, will be responsible for the upgrade and expansion of the CDMA network. Unicom has the option to acquire the network from its parent, Yang said. Shares of Unicom closed Friday's morning session down 0.5% at HK$18.35. -By Sonia Tsang, Dow Jones Newswires; 852-2802-7002; sonia.tsang@dowjones.com Briefing Book for: CHU \| H.HUW \| H.CKH \| Q.CUC