China Telecom, China's biggest fixed-line operator, has agreed to buy a mobile business from wireless rival China Unicom for $15.9bn as part of a state-orchestrated telecoms sector restructuring. China Unicom operates a GSM wireless network in addition to the CDMA network it is divesting. Following this sale, China Unicom is buying China Netcom a fixed-line operator in an all-share deal that values the smaller conmpany at about $23.8bn. The transactions are part of a reorganisation of China’s state-controlled but publicly listed telecom comanies that regulators hope will create more equal competition in a market dominated by wireless group China Mobile.
Michelle Wong, 09 June 2008
Viadeo, a European social network for business contacts has raised a further €5 million in funding from its existing investors, AGF Private Equity and Ventech. The company, which is similar in idea and execution to LinkedIn, plans to use the money to expand its offering into Asia.
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Simon Fox, 03 September 2007
Internet subscriber numbers have grown dramatically in India and China over the past five years. In China, there were over 150 million internet users in 2007, over a third of these with Broadband access. In contrast, India had around 50 million internet subscribers with very little broadband...
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Michelle Wong, 14 February 2008