By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter
SK Group is expanding its telecommunication business in China by striking a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Chinese government on new city projects.
On Sunday, SK Group said its key flagship unit SK Telecom signed a MOU with the Chinese regional government in Shenzhen to boost partnership in RFID, TD-SCDMA segments.
"We hope to get more business chances in the rapidly growing telecommunication sectors in China. The MOU will make headway for us," an SK Telecom spokesperson said.
In May, the South Korean top mobile operator signed an MOU with the Chinese government to jointly set up a digital center in Beijing in anticipation of a surge in demand for digital content following the launch of China's home-grown TD-SCDMA services.
"Specifically, we are looking at more business opportunities in Shenzhen, where China's top developer National Development and Reform Commission eased regulations to attract more foreign capital," said the spokesperson.
China unveiled its telecommunications industry reform plan in early May, encouraging the six existing operators to merge into three. The merged China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile will be the survivors after the move.
Market observers are still open to the possibility that SK Telecom might buy a stake in China Telecom to gain more in China’s CDMA sector, even though SK officially denied such a scenario.
SK is holding 6.6 percent of China Unicom, but the proportion will be reduced to 4 percent with completion of the telecom restructuring.