Beijing to open mobile phone sector
Milan (AsiaNews) China is set to open its domestic mobile phone market to foreign companies who will be able to manufacture locally as long as they meet certain conditions such minimum investment levels and research and development requirements.
The State Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Information Industry are preparing new guidelines to replace the six-year-old law that required mobile phone makers to apply for an administrative licence before setting up shop in China.
Soon Chinese and foreign companies will only be required to submit to the control procedures of the aforementioned Commission and Ministry.
"There will some entry requirements and barriers but no limits to the number of [authorised] enterprises," said Wang Bingke, director of the Ministry of Information Industry's Bureau of Economic System Reform and Economic Operation.
According to Wang Bingke, some companies with good products and structures have not been able to operate because of licence restrictions. This is contrary to markets trends and World Trade Organisation rules.
Market opening also fits in with the Ministry's plans to licence third generation (3G) mobile phone carriers.
Ann Liang, an analyst in the Mobile Communications Asia/Pacific and Japan program of Gartner's Dataquest Telecommunications group (Gartner Research), said that by offering the 3G mobile phone licences the Chinese government wants to open its doors to the mobile phone industry. 3G mobile phone use is spreading across Europe and Asia and China can no longer wait, Ms Liang added.
The Information Industry Ministry started licensing mobile phone manufacturing in 1998.
Some 37 licences were given to 24 companies to manufacture GSM and CDMA phones before the plug was pulled two years ago forcing 10 to 20 companies to shut down their operationsamong them, Huawei Technologies, China's global telecommunication network solutions provider.
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10/07/2020 13:33
22/06/2007
