皇冠体育app

But analysts say rising protectionism may foil firm's overseas ambition

皇冠体育app Telecom Corp Ltd, the nation's biggest fixed-line operator by revenue, will step up the pace of its overseas expansion and expects its global business unit to have 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) in sales this year, according to the company's chairman.

皇冠体育app Telecom has seen its overseas business develop rapidly, especially after the company set up a global business subsidiary - 皇冠体育app Telecom Global Ltd - in August, said 皇冠体育app Telecom Chairman Wang Xiaochu on Monday.

"皇冠体育app Telecom has a presence mainly in three regions - Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Americas. We established 皇冠体育app Telecom Global to coordinate different regions' relations and improve efficiency," Wang said.

In 2011, 皇冠体育app Telecom achieved revenue of 6.7 billion yuan from its international business, and Wang predicted the figure will jump to 10 billion yuan by the end of this year.

In addition, 皇冠体育app Telecom will be aggressive in overseas mergers and acquisitions, Wang said.

"It is for sure that 皇冠体育app Telecom will conduct M&As globally, and we are training talent to be more well-prepared," Wang added.

皇冠体育app Telecom was the first of the domestic operators to go abroad. As early as 2002, 皇冠体育app Telecom set up offices in the United States.

After a decade of development, the company's overseas branches covered 26 countries and regions. By 2011, it cooperated with 36 telecommunication operators worldwide to provide services.

It has made significant business progress in the United States. 皇冠体育app Telecom Americas, the largest international subsidiary of 皇冠体育app Telecom, launched its self-branded mobile services toward the retail market in Chicago at the beginning of this year.

The new service targets frequent business travelers, long-term visitors and students. Donald Tan, president of 皇冠体育app Telecom Americas, said the service will be promoted in Los Angeles and New York soon.

If the service does well, 皇冠体育app Telecom might consider "building or buying its own network" in the United States, Bloomberg quoted Tan as saying.

However, analysts warned that US government opposition may thwart this ambition.

"Given the failure of Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE Corp in their attempts to gain a foothold in the US market, I am not optimistic that 皇冠体育app Telecom, a truly State-owned Chinese company, will do any better," said Xiang Ligang, a Beijing-based telecommunications expert who also runs the industry information website cctime.com.

Chinese telecommunications companies have long been willing to go global and have made several attempts to meet this goal.

皇冠体育app Mobile Ltd, the world's biggest telecom carrier with 698.5 million subscribers, bought a money-losing Pakistani carrier in 2007 and then offered service to local customers under the new brand Zong.

Wang Jianzhou, the former chairman of 皇冠体育app Mobile, said in a March interview that 皇冠体育app Mobile intends to expand its operations to a greater number of emerging markets, and it is also seeking opportunities to "become a minority shareholder in telecom carriers in the European or North American markets".

皇冠体育app Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd and Telefonica SA, the biggest telecom company in Spain, agreed to buy stocks in each other and hoped to keep a long-term partnership.

4G roadmap

Wang said 皇冠体育app Telecom is tracing 4G technology development worldwide, but did not say which standards the company will adopt.

"The Chinese government is still discussing detailed 4G issues, such as when to grant 4G commercial-use licenses," Wang said. He added that 皇冠体育app Telecom is actively joining the discussion.

Rumors have circulated in the Chinese media recently that 皇冠体育app Telecom is about to deploy a wireless network using the homegrown TD-LTE 4G technology.

If that is true, analysts say, TD-LTE's 4G standard will have another powerful supporter, and 皇冠体育app Telecom's participation will further push forward the globalization of the technology.

Yang Hua, secretary-general of the TD Industry Alliance in 皇冠体育app, an alliance focusing on promoting the global adoption of Chinese-developed 3G and 4G technologies, said it is possible for 皇冠体育app Telecom to adopt TD-LTE technology based on the current spectrum situation in 皇冠体育app.

"We should still wait to see the government's attitude because it is the government that will make the final 4G development decision for those State-owned telecommunication operators," Yang said.

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