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Technology Stocks : WCOM -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (3392)	10/13/1998 11:45:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 11568

Hong Kong - WorldCom anticipates big investment in open market South China Morning Post, October 14, 1998 ANDREW CHETHAM United States long distance telecommunications carrier WorldCom may invest millions of dollars and create hundreds of jobs if the local fixed-line telephone market is opened up to full competition. Asia-Pacific president Steve Liddell would not give a figure but said the investment would be on a similar scale to elsewhere in Asia. WorldCom had spent US$211 million in Australia and $345 million in Japan, he said. WorldCom is the only operator other than Hong Kong-listed City Telecom to express interest in providing local services if the market is opened. Mr Liddell denied reports that WorldCom was interested in buying a local operator. The Government is deciding at present whether there should be more licences issued in addition to those held by Hongkong Telecom and its three new rivals Hutchison Telecom, New World Telephone and New T&T. The issue comes to a head at the end of this week with the new operators required to give the Government extra investment commitments in a bid to keep the market closed. Mr Liddell said competition had not worked in Hong Kong as there had been little innovation. He said if granted a licence, WorldCom could create 368 jobs directly and another 880 indirectly in five years as a result of expanded operations in Hong Kong. The company would be looking to lay fibre-optic cable around Hong Kong and into certain buildings and connect that to its existing global cable network. This would give multinational companies "door-to-door" connectivity to their offices and affiliates worldwide. The public manner of WorldCom's offer of jobs and investment may be a sign it is trying to put pressure on the Government to come up with a good reason as to why it would not open the market. WorldCom is clearly targeting the high-value multinational business market rather than looking to provide residential services. Mr Liddell would give no commitment to installing cables in residential areas. "The concept of putting fibre into every home in Hong Kong is unrealistic."