DUBLIN, Ireland--(Business Wire)--Research and Markets
(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c78022) has announced the
addition of 2007 Asia - Telco Company Profiles to their offering.
This report presents 13 profiles of selected major
telecommunications companies in Asia. Each profile provides a
descriptive overview of the business of the particular company as well
as the latest available financial and operational statistics.
This publication contains overviews of the companies that have
been attracting most attention in the region. The reports contain
historical financial and operating data on each of the companies
covered.
The companies covered are as follows:
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)
India's state-owned BSNL holds around 85% of the country's copper
wire local loop networks. It is the largest telecom operator in India,
providing basic fixed-line services nationwide, except for the cities
of Mumbai and Delhi. BSNL lost its exclusive rights to local access
and national telephony in 2001. To compensate for reduced revenues, it
built a national GSM network and entered the mobile sector, becoming
one of the country's biggest GSM operators. BSNL also entered the
international telephony market in February 2003. In April 2004, the
government moved to unbundle BSNL's copper network to encourage the
growth of broadband ADSL access. The company has been attracting
considerable attention through its launch in 2006 of a 'mega tender'
for 45.5 million mobile lines and the supply of 3G equipment. For the
company overview, see chapter 1, page 1.
China Mobile Limited
China Mobile has the world's largest mobile subscriber base (over
300 million) and the largest geographically contiguous mobile network.
Listed on the New York and Hong Kong stock exchanges since 1997, China
Mobile has been facing competition from cheaper city-based PHS mobile
services offered by the country's two big fixed-line operators. In
preparation for 3G services in China, the company submitted its
application for a WCDMA licence in July 2005. In an important
strategic move, China Mobile finalised its purchase of China Resources
Peoples Telephone Company in Hong Kong in 2006, renaming the
subsidiary China Mobile Peoples Telephone Company. For the company
overview, see chapter 2, page 12.
China Netcom Group
China Netcom is the second largest fixed-line operator in China.
The group owns 30% of the country's fixed-line infrastructure and
serves 35% of its fixed-line customers. As part of its infrastructure
it has a 360Gb/s IP backbone network and acquired the Asia Netcom
submarine cable network. Its services include PSTN and VoIP telephony,
the 'Little Smart' PHS service, broadband Internet access, leased
lines and VPNs. With an IPO in November 2004, it was the last of the
major telcos in China to go public. In 2006, the company sold 100% of
Asia Netcom for US$168 million. For the company overview, see chapter
3, page 25.
China Telecom Corporation Ltd
China Telecom is the principal provider of local, domestic and
international voice and data services, dial-up and broadband Internet
access in 20 of the 31 regions in China. The company commenced
operations in September 2002, then went public on the HKSE and NYSE in
November of that year, after the government split the original
state-owned China Telecom into the China Netcom and the current China
Telecom. Revenue growth engines have included the company's PHS mobile
service and its broadband Internet service. In mid-2005, China Telecom
signed a landmark cooperative agreement with ZTE to provide the
world's largest fixed-line Next-Generation Network in China covering
30 provinces. In 2006, the government selected China Telecom (together
with China Netcom and China Mobile) to build pre-commercial 3G
networks based on the locally developed TD-SCDMA platform. For the
company overview, see chapter 4, page 39.
Hutchison Whampoa Ltd
Hutchison Whampoa, a huge Hong Kong based conglomerate, has become
heavily involved in telecommunications and is now a serious global
player. As well as its Hong Kong business, it has a presence in a
growing number of countries throughout Asia, Europe, Australasia, the
Middle East, Africa and South America. Specialising in mobile
communications, the company has invested billions in 3G licences and
infrastructure and has been at the forefront of the global 3G
roll-out. Branded '3', it launched the world's first UMTS 3G to market
in 2003, in UK, Italy and Australia. With a slower take-up than
expected, the company could be forced to sell more assets to finance
its international 3G rollout, or substantially modify its 3G strategy.
For the company overview, see chapter 5, page 53.
Japan - Major Operators - Overview & Statistics
Japan has been active in regulating its telecommunication industry
to reduce the monopoly of NTT, and to introduce more effective
competition. This has been effective in increasing the number and size
of competitors, reducing prices and introducing innovative telecoms
applications. This report gives a brief overview of the operating
environment within Japan, and describes the major players - NTT, KDDI
and SoftBank - as well providing historical financial and operating
data on the companies. (Note: The history of these companies up to the
present is described in a separate report.) For the country overview,
see chapter 6, page 69.
PCCW Ltd
PCCW has been Hong Kong's dominant fixed-line telco provider since
it acquired the incumbent, Cable & Wireless HKT, in 2000. The company
is Hong Kong's largest ISP offering broadband ADSL access and
multimedia content including pay TV channels. In January 2005, China
Netcom reached an agreement with PCCW on the purchase of a 20% stake
in PCCW for US$1 billion. The relationship between China Netcom and
PCCW continued to evolve with the forming of a joint broadband venture
in mainland China in 2006. The year 2006 also saw PCCW as the
continuing subject of investor interest, as Macquarie Bank of
Australia and US investment company Texas Pacific Group (TPG) publicly
competed to buy PCCW's phone and media assets for about US$7 billion.
Both companies abandoned their takeover attempts after strong
resistance from China Netcom. Major PCCW shareholder Richard Li
increased his stake in PCCW after the collapse of the sale. For the
company overview, see chapter 7, page 79.
Singapore Telecom (SingTel)
Listed on the Singapore and Australian Stock Exchanges, SingTel is
majority-owned by the Singapore Government. SingTel is the leading
provider of fixed-line, mobile and Internet services in Singapore.
With a small, saturated and competitive home market, SingTel has
significant offshore interests, which now contribute a majority of its
revenue. Its main subsidiary is Optus in Australia. Others include
Telkomsel in Indonesia, Globe Telecom in the Philippines, Bharti
Telecom in India and AIS in Thailand. The company has significant
investments in international submarine cable networks, satellite
systems and data centres. In 2006, SingTel's Optus acquired 100% of
Virgin Mobile in Australia. For the company overview, see chapter 8,
page 93.
StarHub Pte Ltd
StarHub provides voice and data services over fixed, mobile and
Internet platforms. After a period of strong growth, the company has
passed MobileOne to take second position behind SingTel in the mobile
market and is now closing in on the incumbent. StarHub has deployed an
IP-based network to serve corporate customers and has been building a
nationwide network to serve the residential market. In April 2001, the
operator was awarded a 3G mobile licence and launched a 3G service in
2005. Singapore Cable Vision merged with StarHub in July 2002,
renaming itself StarHub Cable Vision, providing cable TV and broadband
services. The operator's broadband base represented over 50% of the
residential broadband market in Singapore by end-2006. Households
subscribing to StarHub's triple play services grew by 72% during 2006.
or the company overview, see chapter 9, page 106.
Telekom Malaysia (TM)
Listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, state-controlled TM is
the country's telecommunications incumbent. Despite market
deregulation in 1994, the company continues to dominate the fixed-line
voice, data and Internet sectors. In April 2003, it acquired number
two GSM mobile operator Celcom. In January 2004, it launched a 3G
service using the WCDMA standard. Its ISP, TM Net, is one of the
largest in Southeast Asia, with ADSL exchanges installed throughout
the country. Its international arm, TM International, has telecom
investments, mainly mobile, in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand
and Cambodia, with evolving plans to expand into other parts of Asia.
Reinforcing its focus on Asia, TM sold its remaining businesses in
Africa in 2006. For the company overview, see chapter 10, page 118.
Vietnam Posts & Telecommunications Corporation (VNPT)
VNPT is Vietnam's incumbent state-owned telecom carrier, having
held a virtual monopoly on all services including fixed-line, mobile,
data, Internet and satellite. The government has licensed other state
run operators, which provide some competition, mainly with domestic
and international VoIP telephony and ISP services over VNPT's network.
VNPT operates the country's two main GSM mobile networks and a PHS
mobile city network. VNPT's growth areas are in mobile and ADSL
Internet services. The government had announced plans to restructure
VNPT, opening up for greater private investment in the sector at an
early date. In 2006, VNPT announced that it was aiming to install 29
fixed telephone lines for every 100 people by 2010. For the company
overview, see chapter 11, page 133.
For more information visit
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c78022.
Research and Markets
Laura Wood
Senior Manager
Fax: +353 1 4100 980
press@researchandmarkets.com
Copyright Business Wire 2007
