China Netcom Sets Its Sights Abroad
China Netcom Group is the No. 2 player in one of the world's largest and fastest-growing fixed-line telephone markets. But instead of sticking to domestic growth, the company is trying to burst onto the international scene ahead of planned stock listings in Hong Kong and New York this year.
Its vehicle for overseas expansion is a fiber-optic-cable network it found on the scrap heap a year and a half ago in the wake of the insolvency of Asia Global Crossing Ltd., an affiliate of Global Crossing Ltd., of Bermuda.
Together with partners Newbridge Capital Inc. and Softbank Asia Infrastructure Fund, China Netcom paid just $80 million for the network, which only two years earlier had a book valuation of $1.2 billion. This month, China Netcom, acting through a subsidiary, announced it had bought out its partners to become sole owner of the fiber-optic network, renamed Asia Netcom Ltd.
Even after a brutal industry shakeout, selling bandwidth to carriers is a business burdened by falling prices and overcapacity. Wholesale prices have plunged during the past year by as much as 80% in the trans-Pacific and North Asian routes, estimates To Chee Eng, principal analyst at research firm Gartner Dataquest.
By contrast, China Netcom's fixed-line business in China has expanded mostly as a result of the explosive popularity of the so-called personal handy-phone system, an inexpensive wireless network that allows users to roam usually only within one metropolitan area. In the past year, the company has increased its number of PHS subscribers to 10.6 million from 2.23 million, or about 40% of the nationwide total, according to technology-research firm BDA China.
Overall, China Netcom had a loss of 176 million yuan ($21.3 million) in 2003, according to government statistics. The company targets an 8.7% rise in revenue to 81.7 billion yuan for its principal businesses and profit of 1.2 billion yuan this year.
While international operations contribute a fraction of the company's total revenue, according to BDA estimates, company executives, including Edward Tian, chief executive of China Netcom International, long have advocated moving outside the heavily regulated China market to secure future growth.
Developing its international business is a way for China Netcom to distinguish itself from other Chinese telecommunications players as it heads toward an initial public offering.
It has named Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc. and China International Capital Corp. as the lead underwriters and is in the process of deciding which of its three subsidiary companies will be included in the listing, which is expected to raise $1.5 billion to $3 billion.
中国网通准备跻身国际舞台
作为中国第二大固定电话运营商，中国网通集团(China Netcom Group)并没有只局限在这个全球最大而且增长最快的固定电话市场内追求增长，公司正试图在国际舞台上一试身手，准备今年在香港和纽约两地上市。
中国网通海外扩展的法宝就是在一年半前收购破产的亚洲环球电讯有限公司(Asia Global Crossing Ltd)时，从"废品堆"里淘出来的光纤网络。亚洲环球电讯是总部位于百慕大的环球电讯(Global Crossing Ltd., GBLXE)的一家关联企业。
中国网通和其合作伙伴──新桥资本(Newbridge Capital Inc., NBG.XX)及软库亚洲基建基金(Softbank Asia Infrastructure Fund)以仅8,000万美元的价格收购了亚洲环球电讯的光纤网络，而就在两年前，这项网络资产的帐面价值还高达12亿美元。本月，中国网通通过旗下一家子公司宣布，已经从合作伙伴手中收购了光纤网络的全部资产，并将其更名为亚洲网通(Asia Netcom Ltd.)。
即便在经历了业内大变局之后，向运营商出售宽频业务仍不失为一种负担，因为此业务正承受著价格下降、容量饱和的压力。据研究机构Gartner Dataquest的首席分析师To Chee Eng估计，过去一年中，在竞争更激烈的泛太平洋和北亚，宽频批发价格下降了80%。
相比之下，中国网通在国内市场的固定电话业务却一直在增长，这主要是"小灵通"蓬勃发展的结果。"小灵通"使用一种价格低廉的无线网络，其覆盖范围通常只有一个城市。根据电信行业战略咨询公司BDA China提供的资料，过去一年，中国网通的小灵通用户从223万增至1,060万，全国用户增幅达40%左右。根据政府统计数据，该公司2003年整体亏损人民币1.76亿元（合2,130万美元）。公司预计今年主营业务收入将实现8.7%的增长，达到人民币817亿元，利润将达到人民币12亿元。
据BDA估计，国际业务对网通集团总体收入的贡献很小，尽管如此，长期以来，包括网通总裁田溯宁(Edward Tian)在内的公司管理人士一直都支持将业务拓展到受严格管制的中国市场以外，以保证今后的发展。
发展国际业务也是中国网通在准备上市之际，使自己区别预于其他中国电信企业而打出的一张牌。网通已经聘请高盛集团(Goldman Sachs Group Inc., GS)、花旗集团(Citigroup Inc., C)和中国国际金融有限公司(China International Capital Corp.)作为其首次公开募股(IPO)的牵头承销商，预计募股规模将在15亿美元到30亿美元之间。目前公司还从旗下3家子公司中挑选参与上市的子公司。
按照收入水平，中国网通仅为中国第三大电信运营商，收入占整个市场的16.6%。中国电信股份有限公司 (China Telecom Corp. Ltd., 0728.HK, 简称：中国电信)是中国最大的电信运营商，据政府数据显示，其收入占整体市场的37%左右。
但发展国际业务也不会是轻而易举之事。To Chee Eng说，对于刚刚涉足宽频批发业务的起步者而言，这个市场简直就是个"角斗场"。
中国网通的生存之道是，裁减了三分之二的亚洲网通员工，并将其他一些批发业务直接出售给了零售客户。零售市场的毛利润率通常在20%-25%，而批发业务的利润率只有一位数。为吸引跨国企业客户，公司正在推广虚拟专用网络(virtual private networks, 简称VPN)、视频流(video streaming)和网际网路语音协定(voice over Internet protocol, 简称VoIP)等服务。
亚洲网通总裁兼首席营运长比尔?巴尼(Bill Barney)称，进入零售市场是公司一次重大转型，此举可能助公司起死回生。尽管亚洲网通的零售和批发业务就比重而言平分秋色，但在2008年之前，零售业务收入将占该公司总收入的70%-80%。
研究机构国际数据公司(International Data Corp., 简称IDC)的雷尼?甘布尔(Renee Gamble)说，他们进入了"食物链"的高端。但为了在被美国电话电报公司(AT&T Corp., T)和荷兰Equant NV等业内巨头占据的企业服务市场中分得一杯羹，亚洲网通将自己的价格压得很低，这影响到了公司的赢利能力。
不过，巴尼说，亚洲网通只对那些能产生现金的业务感兴趣，因此会放弃大概五分之四的生意。由于公司本身拥有网络，因此在定价方面能够更为灵活。亚洲网通还分别同在那斯达克上市的印度互联网供应商Sify Ltd.、以及电信公司Videsh Sachar Nigam Ltd.签有合作协议，通过上述协议，公司能够进入亚洲地区的一个主要增长市场。
但毕竟网络服务行业的竞争在未来几年内只会愈演愈烈，因为越来越多的国际企业在拓展他们的网络并继续削减价格。Gartner的To说，形势只会更为艰难，这是一场巨人间的竞技游戏。
