China Telecom to build Sino-Indian Cable: Pay close attention to overseas mergers and acquisitions opportunities

Beijing Time September 29 Noon news, according to foreign media reports, China Telecom in Tuesday said it would "pay close attention to" overseas mergers and acquisitions opportunities, and said it is negotiating with three Indian telecom operators to consider the establishment of a land cable between China and India.　　Deng, chairman and general manager of China Telecom (Hong Kong) International Limited, said in an interview that China Telecom would build a new office in India and is awaiting approval from the Indian government. "India is a very important market," Deng said. "India is growing very fast and has great potential for economic growth."　　He also likened the trade between India and China to "the New Silk Road". China Telecom is working with three operators of India's Bharti Airtel, Reliance Telecom (Reliance Communications) and Tata Telecom to create a new cable between the two countries using onshore cables already laid by China Telecom at two junctions.　　At present, between China and India by the submarine cable connection, vulnerable to earthquakes and other disasters. Deng said, "We hope that the land cable between China and India can be paved as soon as possible to promote economic and trade development between the two countries to meet the needs of both peoples."　　"China Telecom has no intention of acquiring or taking stakes in Indian telecoms operators, given the licensing and regulatory issues," he said. China Telecom entered the mobile communication market in 2008 through the acquisition of CDMA services.　　In the first half of 2010, China Telecom's net profit was 9.08 billion yuan, just 0.9% higher than last year. Despite the sluggish growth, China Telecom is still ambitious and plans to scale up capital investment to upgrade the network.　　Like China Mobile, the Chinese telecoms industry is looking to overseas markets. Deng said China Telecom would "closely monitor" the opportunities for acquisitions in the Asia-Pacific region, as the region's telecoms market is expected to grow more than any other region in the world.　　China Telecom also hopes to cooperate with companies with overseas expansion experience. "We want our partners to have an Asia-Pacific or global business experience," he said. However, he says the timing is important for any acquisition, and now "is not the right time." Deng said he was confident that China Telecom's mobile business would be profitable next year.　　China Telecom's domestic mobile market share has grown from 4% to today's 10% from the acquisition of Unicom's CDMA business, and its goal is to gain a higher market share.　　China Telecom has also invested in Internet data centers in order to expand its services beyond telecommunications and diversify it to better serve its overseas-expanding Chinese enterprises. In Tuesday, China Telecom announced it would invest 200 million Hong Kong dollars to set up data centres in HK and Singapore. Deng also said China Telecom will also look for opportunities to set up data centers in Japan and Australia. (slides) > Related reports: China Telecom will set up an office in India to discuss the new generation of music phone: Build 3G Smart flagship mobile phone