NEW YORK-AVIC Group International Inc. announced it has reached an agreement with Hebei United Telecommunications Equipment Co., NTT International Corp. and Itochu Corp. to acquire a joint venture interest to develop a 200,000 subscriber Global System for Mobile communications network in China.
AVIC said it will own a 31 percent interest in the GSM joint venture, and NTT International, Hebei United Telecommunications and Itochu will hold 29.4 percent, 20 percent and 19.6 percent, respectively. The venture will be operated by Chinese carrier China United Telecommunications Corp. in Hebei Province.
“This joint venture is important to AVIC as it represents the first of many telecommunications projects we expect to develop both in Hebei Province and other parts of China,” said Joseph Wright, AVIC’s chairman and chief executive officer. “As the Chinese telecommunications market continues to rapidly expand, AVIC will join in that growth by bringing badly needed foreign capital to the market in Hebei and other markets in China.”
