China Netcom agreed to pay approximately US$1 billion for a 20% stake in PCCW, Hong Kong's incumbent telecom operator.
China Netcom is one of two dominant fixed-line telecom operators in China. Its northern service region in China consists of Beijing Municipality, Tianjin Municipality, Hebei Province, Henan Province, Shandong Province and Liaoning Province. Its southern service region in China consists of Shanghai Municipality and Guangdong Province. China Netcom primarily targets business and residential customers in selected high-density areas in its southern service region in China. China Netcom also operates an extensive network in the Asia-Pacific region. http://www.pccw.com
- In February 2004, China Netcom acquired full control of Asia Netcom, a company founded in March 2003 by a consortium lead by CNC which included Newbridge Capital and Softbank Asia Infrastructure Fund.