Tag Archives: China Telecom

China Telecom latest Business & Financial news from Doug Young, the Expert on Chinese High Tech Market, (former Journalist and Chief editor at Reuters)

News Digest: January 29, 2014

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 29. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • SEC, Deloitte Resolve Dispute Over Longtop Audit Work Papers (English article)
  • Clothing Maker Shangtex Acquires 50 Pct Of Denmark’s Metropol (Chinese article)
  • Kingsoft (HKEx: 3888) Applies To Spin Off Software Security Unit For US IPO (Chinese article)
  • China Telecom (HKEx: 728) Beijing Unit Lowers iPhone Prices As Low As 3,400 Yuan (Chinese article)
  • JA Solar (Nasdaq: JASO), Powerway Establish South Africa Solar Module Facility (PRNewswire)

China Mobile Shakes Up Fixed-Line Broadband

Competition comes to fixed-line broadband

A welcome development looks set to shake up China’s fixed-line broadband sector this year, with word that leading wireless carrier China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) is offering aggressive pricing after receiving a license to offer fixed-line service late last year. Of course I’m speaking from the consumer’s perspective, since China’s 1.3 billion consumers and millions of businesses have had little or no choice for the last decade when choosing a fixed-line broadband supplier. The development looks less positive for the existing duopoly of China Telecom (HKEx: 728; NYSE: CHA) and China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU, which may actually have to lower prices and improve their products to continue attracting new customers and keep existing ones from defecting. Read Full Post…

Regulator Sets Modest VNO Target

MIIT sets modest VNO target

I have to admit I was quite disappointed to read that China’s regulator has set an extremely modest target for a new group of virtual network operators (VNOs) that will finally break the telecoms services monopoly held by China’s big 3 state-run telcos. I wasn’t expecting huge things from this new group of operators, who will lease network capacity from the trio of existing telcos and then sell telecoms services under their own brands. But the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s goal of just 50 million VNO mobile service subscribers by the end of next year looks ridiculously low to me and hints of worries that this new pilot program could be plagued with problems. (English article) Read Full Post…

Looming iPhone Price War To Boost Apple

China braces for iPhone price wars

Chinese media are buzzing with anticipation as dominant mobile carrier China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) prepares to finally offer the latest iPhones for its network next week, after becoming the last of the country’s 3 telcos to sign a deal with Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL). The move will almost certainly provide a nice boost for China Mobile’s newly launched 4G service, and I expect we could see up to 2-3 million iPhones sold over the next 2 weeks in the run-up to the gift-giving Lunar New Year late this month. But the real beneficiary of the deal will be Apple itself, which could see its iPhone sales boom as China’s 2 other telcos offer their own attractive new iPhone promotions. Read Full Post…

News Digest: January 10, 2014

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on January 10. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • China Mobile To Sell iPhone Next Week, Unicom, China Telecom Cut Prices (Chinese article)
  • Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) CEO Says Still In Dark On China Antitrust Probe (English article)
  • Zhou Weiping Resigns As Interim CEO, CFO Of Suntech (NYSE: STPFQ) (PRNewswire)
  • Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) Denies In Talks To Sell Stake To Alibaba (Chinese article)
  • LDK (NYSE: LDK) Enters Further Forbearance Arrangement With Noteholders (PRNewswire)

China Mobile Probes, Unicom Meddles

China Mobile probes HK unit over botched TV deal

We’re just a week into the New Year, and already new signs of political shenanigans at the nation’s 2 leading wireless telcos, China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) and China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU), are hinting at turbulence ahead as Beijing tries to liberalize the state-dominated telecoms services sector. Media are reporting that China Mobile has launched an internal probe into a botched initiative in Hong Kong, which looks to me like an extension of Beijing’s fast-expanding series of anti-corruption probes at major state-owned firms. Meantime, media are reporting separately that a top Unicom executive has left the company to joint one of the nation’s newly licensed virtual network operators (VNO), in a deal that looks aimed at undermining Beijing’s plans to inject new competition into the telecoms services sector. Read Full Post…

MIIT Surprises Market With VNO Licenses

MIIT speeds up VNO plan with license awards

After moving extremely slowly throughout the year, the telecoms regulator is suddenly surprising everyone with a flurry of major new announcements in the final weeks of 2013. First the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued long-awaited 4G wireless licenses earlier this month, and now we’re learning that it has just issued its first batch of virtual network operator (VNO) licenses. This sudden issue of VNO licenses comes as a bit of a surprise, since there were no advance indications for the timing and many believed the MIIT wouldn’t make the move until next spring. Read Full Post…

China Unicom Reorganizes Again

Unicom in yet another management overhaul

When someone writes a future book about the history of telecoms in China, the period between 2008 and 2013 could easily be titled “The Lost Period For China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU),” a reference to the numerous squandered opportunities for China’s second largest wireless carrier during that time. Now we’re getting word that this “lost period” could extend into 2014 and perhaps beyond, with reports that Unicom has undergone yet another major management overhaul that has become a regular occurrence at the company over the last 5 years. Read Full Post…

News Digest: December 24, 2013

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 23. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • China Telecom (HKEx: 728) To Save 3.14 Bln Yuan After Cut In Fees (English article)
  • Jingdong Posts Small Profit in Q1-Q3 2013 (English article)
  • PSEG Acquires Two Power Plants from Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) (PRNewswire)
  • Shuanghui Joins Sigma’s Revised Bid for Spain’s Campofrio Food Group (Businesswire)
  • Beijing Online Sales Pass Traditional Department Stores Sales For First Time (Chinese article)

China Mobile Faces Declining Profits In 2014

China Mobile gives aggressive 4G targets

The headlines are swamped today with news about leading wireless telco China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL), after Chairman Xi Guohua spoke an event in Guangzhou where he gave details on a wide range of issues as the carrier formally launched its new 4G service. I don’t usually discuss the bottom line until the end of my posts, but with so much news and new data in the headlines it does seem better this time to start here with that assessment. In this case it’s safe to say that China Mobile will embark on a massive spending spree to promote 4G in 2014, meaning we’re likely to see declining profits for much or all of the year. Read Full Post…

Unicom Picks FDD 4G, China Mobile Counts Down To iPhone

Unicom puts money on FDD-LTE

After 2 weeks of silence following the long-awaited issue of 4G mobile licenses, China Unicom (HKEx: 762; NYSE: CHU) is finally making some hints about its strategy in the new era of high-speed telecommunications. I’m usually quite negative about the company due to its disorganization and lack of focus, but for once I have to compliment it for a strategy that looks reasonably well conceived. Meantime in other 4G news, the final countdown to China Mobile’s (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) iPhone launch may finally be nearing an end, with speculation that announcement of the long-overdue tie-up could come as soon as Wednesday. Read Full Post…