BEIJING—Two regulations banning foreign investment in China’s telecom carriers will be abolished on 11 December, when China effectively joins the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The two regulations are the “Provisional Regulations on the Administration of Examining and Approving Telecommunications Business” issued on 11 September, 1993, and the “Provisional Regulations on the Administration of the Telecommunications Market” issued on 10 November, 1995.
Until now, buying stock in publicly listed Chinese carriers was the only way for foreign companies to invest in the country’s burgeoning telecommunications operations. China’s two mobile carriers, China Mobile and China Unicom, are both listed in Hong Kong and New York. Vodafone bought 2 percent of the shares of China Mobile (HK) and recently opened a branch in Beijing.
