September 9, 2000, Hong Kong - China United Telecommunications Corporation (China Unicom) and Hutchison Telecommunications (Hong Kong) Ltd (Hutchison Telecom) announce the setting up of an equity joint venture to provide telecom-related consultancy and training services in Mainland China, mainly in the areas of technical support and marketing services. The two parties signed a JV contract in Hong Kong today for the setting up of the new company in Beijing.

According to the agreement, the joint venture will be 51 per cent held by a PRC-based wholly-owned subsidiary of China Unicom and 49 per cent by a wholly owned subsidiary of Hutchison Telecom. The scope of the business will be nationwide and all of its activities will be within the regulatory framework of the PRC government and in accordance with the market-opening schedule in respect of China's accession to the WTO.

The joint venture will mainly provide telecom-related technical and marketing consultancy services to cover network planning, design and optimisation, operation maintenance; marketing and sales; customer service and staff training.

In the same occasion, a Letter of Intent was also signed to award Hutchison Telephone Company Limited with a network optimisation consultancy project for Unicom's Beijing GSM cellular network. This represents the first major step towards future cooperation of the two companies in various telecommunications activities in Mainland China.

"After the formation of a strategic alliance between China Unicom and Hutchison Whampoa in May, we are now pleased to partner with Hutchison Telecom to enhance the quality standard of telecom services for our subsidiaries throughout China. This joint venture company will enable China Unicom to further enhance its network quality and customer-focused services for the mobile subscribers in China," said Mr Wang Jianzhou, Vice President of China United Telecommunications Corporation.

"It is our great pleasure to form a joint venture with China Unicom to help accelerate the growth of China's telecom industry. The recent award of a network optimisation project on Unicom's Beijing GSM network marks a major milestone in the cooperation of the two companies in various telecommunications activities in Mainland China. We look forward to many more opportunities of working closely with China Unicom to transfer our telecom experiences to China and broaden our portfolio in the mainland," said Mrs Agnes Nardi, Managing Director of Hutchison Telecom.

For media enquiries:

Li Zhengmao
China Unicom
Tel: 852 2126 2018

Frances Ng
Hutchison Telecom
Tel: 852 2128 6739       Fax: 852 2123 1257
Email: francesng@hthk.com