China Partially Expands Foreign Access to Telecoms Market

China has decided to grant foreign companies a better and easier access to its telecommunications market, in a bid to make another small step toward opening its economy.

Enterprises registered in the experimental Shanghai Free Trade Zone (FTZ) will be able to invest in projects involving "value-added services" in telecoms industry.

"Value-added services" are those offered apart from basic functions offered by telecoms companies.

Providing of functions like calls, for example, could not pass into the hands of non-Chinese enterprises.

They would however keep the right to engage in other activities such as messaging, Internet and cloud data.

In order to receive a permit from the Chinese government, a corporation will have to prove it has at least RMB 1 M (USD 161 000).

The infrastructure they are to use to develop their activity will have to be placed within the FTZ, even though they might offer services to the whole Chinese territory.

Procedures to obtain a license have now been shortened from five months to more than 60 days.

China has recently taken a series of steps to reduce the internal pressure on its economy.

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