China Netcom to open in London
China Netcom, China’s second largest fixed-line telephone company, has opened a London office to act as its European headquarters.
China Netcom wants to use its global telecoms network to serve the voice and data needs of Chinese companies with operations in Europe. It also wants to get the telecom business of European companies with operations in China.
The move by China Netcom is part of efforts by Chinese companies to expand overseas under the Beijing government’s ‘go global’ policy. The government wants Chinese companies to compete with US, Japanese and European companies.
China Netcom’s telecoms network extends to cities in Asia, Europe and the US, and it is looking to expand further.
The London office was opened by Jidong Zhao, China Netcom’s senior vice-president.
It will be up against serious competition - European and US telecoms companies such as BT, AT&T and Verizon Communications.
Note that China Telecom, China’s largest fixed-line company, opened a London office in 2005.
Huawei and ZTE, the increasingly powerful Chinese telecoms equipment makers, opened London offices in 2002 and 2004.
Telefónica, the Spanish telecoms company with a leading presence in Latin America, has said it hopes to increase its minority stake in China Netcom to 10% by the end of the year.
Meanwhile Vodafone, the UK mobile phone group, has a 3% stake in China Mobile, China’s largest mobile operator, which plans to open a London office early next year.
Tags: China-Mobile, China-Netcom, China-Telecom, Huawei, ZTE
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