International telecom giant Telefonica SA (TEF) and China’s second largest wireless operator China Unicom Ltd. (CHU) said they plan to “enhance” their current Strategic Alliance by each investing approximately $500 million in the other operator. The move will see Telefonica increase its stake in China Unicom to around 9.7% and for China Unicom to increase its ownership of Telefonica to 1.37%.
The move follows a 2009 agreement that began the Strategic Alliance and included each carrier investing approximately $1 billion into the other operator. That agreement also called for both operators to partner on procurement, mobile service platforms, services to MNCs, wholesale carriers, roaming, technology and other offerings.
“We are very pleased to further strengthen our relationship with China Unicom,” said Telef
China Unicom, Telefonica agree to further investments
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