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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Moderated Thread - please read rules before posting -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: waitwatchwander who wrote (34065)	4/10/2003 10:55:05 PM
From: waitwatchwander	Respond to of 196608

China United Telecom Starts Prepaid CDMA In 7 Provinces biz.yahoo.com Thursday April 10, 10:09 pm ET Dow Jones Business News BEIJING -(Dow Jones)- China United Telecommunications Corp. has started offering prepaid mobile phone services on its code division multiple access network at seven of its provincial branches, a move that could help drive subscriber growth for the closely-watched network. China's number-two mobile operator said the prepaid service became available on a trial basis as of Thursday at its units in Guangdong, Heilongjiang, Chongqing, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Shanxi and Hunan. China United Telecom already offers a prepaid mobile service on its global system for mobile communications, or GSM, network, which has more than 60 million users compared with the 9 million for CDMA. Prepaid services, which allow consumers to better control their phone bills, are typically more popular with lower-income subscribers. Some analysts are worried the new prepaid service will muddy the high-class brand image that the company has tried to create for its CDMA network, as well as dilute the network's higher average revenue per user, or ARPU. "To promote a prepaid service at this time is the necessary result of the market's development. China Unicom hopes to further satisfy consumer demand in different market segments by a combination of individualized (services)," it said. The company said prepaid CDMA users will receive the same quality of voice calls and the same add-on data services that postpaid CDMA users now have. It has previously emphasized that the prepaid service will target young people interested in those data services. In any case, the launch of prepaid services will probably help China United reach its ambitious target of a net increase of 13 million CDMA users this year - more than the 12 million it wants for the GSM network. State-owned China United is the parent company of Hong Kong- and New York- listed China Unicom Ltd. , a listing vehicle which is leasing a portion of the CDMA network. -By Andrew Batson, Dow Jones Newswires; 8610 6588-5848; andrew.batson@dowjones.com -Edited by Debra Boyce

To: waitwatchwander who wrote (34065)	4/11/2003 11:20:35 AM
From: waitwatchwander	Respond to of 196608

S&P affirms SK Telecom rating, off CreditWatch Reuters, 04.10.03, 11:25 PM ET forbes.com (Press release provided by Standard & Poor's Corp) TOKYO, April 11 - Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Friday affirmed its 'A-' long-term rating on SK Telecom Co Ltd <17670.KS>. The rating was removed from CreditWatch, where it was placed on March 13, 2003, after the disclosure of accounting fraud at SK Global, the SK group's trading unit. The outlook on the rating is stable. "The affirmation reflects the expectation that SK Telecom's credit standing will not be damaged by financial burdens or liquidity risk from its association with SK Global," said Eun Jin Kim, a credit analyst at Standard & Poor's. Standard & Poor's concerns over the impact of the accounting scandal on SK Telecom centered on the company's commercial and ownership ties with SK Global, and the financial impact of the measures it would take to resolve these ties. Another key concern was the possibility that SK Telecom's access to funds or cost of financing would be affected by a backlash from the financial markets. However, following a review of SK Telecom's operations, Standard & Poor's is satisfied that the company has the ability to replace SK Global's line-leasing and handset distribution functions without a substantial impact on its financial strength. SK Telecom should also be able to withstand the possible repurchase of the 2.7 percent of its shares owned by SK Global if this is deemed necessary. Standard & Poor's does not expect that SK Telecom will be forced to undertake large-scale share repurchases from remaining SK Group companies. Based on these factors, as well as SK Telecom's strong cash flow (with unconsolidated funds from operations of 3.8 trillion won ($3.09 billion) at December 2002), Standard & Poor's does not view the current situation at SK Global as a potential risk for the creditworthiness of SK Telecom. Initial concerns over a possible backlash from the financial markets have largely been put to rest by SK Telecom's successful issuance of five-year 300 billion won bonds in March, with no significant increases in funding costs. In addition, SK Telecom's share prices have recently returned to pre-SK Global scandal levels. In view of these factors, Standard & Poor's believes SK Telecom's reputation has not deteriorated significantly as a result of the SK Global scandal. ($1=1,229.5 won) Copyright 2003, Reuters News Service