The revamped China Telecom and
China
Netcom make their respective debut in Beijing today under their
new names of China Telecom Corporation and China Netcom
Communication Group Corporation.
With the founding of the both corporations, the restructuring of
China's telecommunication industry is said to be running towards a
temporary completion.
According to the state telecom structural reform plan, the former
China Telecom was split into southern and northern parts.
The new China Telecom Corporation is still entitled to retain the
goodwill and intangible assets of "China Telecom", maintain
business in 21 provinces and cities in southern and north-western
China and hold 70 percent of the national trunk transmission
network assets owned by the former China Telecom.
The 10 northern provincial corporations of the former China Telecom
including those in the provinces of Henan, Shandong and
Northeastern provinces, together with the former China Netcom, and
Jitong
Communications Corporation, merged into the new China Netcom
Communication Group Corporation, holding 30 percent of the national
trunk line transmission network assets.
Both new corporations have now become two fixed line telephone
network enterprises with equal capacity in China's
telecommunication market.
The two companies both have complete domestic long-distance trunk
transmission networks and local telephone networks in their own
areas and they are also allowed to build and operate local
telephone networks into each other's areas.
After the overhaul of China's telecommunication enterprises, the
market is now shared by six corporations, namely China Telecom
Corporation, China Netcom Communication Group Corporation, China
Mobile, China Unicom, China Satcom and China Railcom.
China will gradually open up its telecommunications market to
foreign capital in years ahead, fulfilling its promises upon
entering the World Trade Organization (WTO), which will undoubtedly
bring tough competition to a market currently dominated by Chinese
ventures.
In
order to increase the strength of domestic firms in future
competition, the Chinese government has been reforming its
telecommunication industry since November last year.
( May 17, 2002)