China Telecom, the country's fixed-line telecom giant will open its US branch to further expand its business in the international market, company executives said yesterday.
"The branch company in the United States will begin China Telecom's five-year development plan of becoming an international competitive company," said a senior director.
The US branch will be established on the base of China Telecom's representative office which was opened 18 months ago.
After the US, China Telecom will also expand market exploration in other countries and regions, he said.
But he refused to reveal where China Telecom's next overseas location would be.
With branches around the world, China Telecom will better cooperate with overseas telecom carriers and equipment vendors, the director said.
Setting up the US branch is also part of preparation works for China Telecom's pending overseas public listing, industry insiders said.
It's widely believed that China Telecom will go public in both New York and Hong Kong stock exchanges in the early half of next year.
(China Daily June 25, 2002)
