Anti-corruption probes in telecom industry
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More than 60 people, including government officials and telecom company employees, are being investigated for corruption stemming from a senior executive in China's telecom industry, according to industry sources.
China Mobile, the country's top telecommunications company, has confirmed that Ma Li, deputy general manager of the company's data service division, has been seized by anti-graft authorities on corruption charges.
The company did not give more details about Ma's investigation.
Initial probe showed that the amount of money involved in Ma's case is likely to top 110 million yuan (17 million U.S. dollars), according to one of the sources on condition of anonymity.
The probe had led to about 60 other people being investigated and the illegal money involved could exceed 350 million yuan, said the source.
Ye Bing, chief executive officer (CEO) of ASPire Holdings, a corporation held by China Mobile, had been under investigation since mid-May, according to another source also on condition of anonymity.
It is believed that Ye was among the people traced in the investigation of Ma's case.
ASPire has been acting as a bridge between China Mobile and other data service providers (SP).
Beginning earlier in May, anti-graft authorities launched a close investigation into the three top telecommunications service operator companies -- China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom. SP companies, closely connected to the three companies, are also being investigated, according to the sources.
In December 2009, Zhang Chunjiang, then vice chairman of China Mobile, was removed from his post on allegations of corruption. The CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection later found that he abused his position by taking bribes.
In April this year, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) announced that Su Jinsheng, the ministry's chief engineer, had been removed from his post. However, the ministry did not give further details for Su's removal.
China's telecommunications industry is considered to be one of the most lucrative sectors in the country.
According to the MIIT, the number of cell phone users in China has grown by 41.39 million in the first four months this year, reaching 900.39 million in total, which is covering almost two-thirds of the nation's population.
Moreover, by the end of April, the users of the third generation (3G) mobile telecommunications services in China reached 67.57 million, 20.52 million more than that at the end of last year.
Mobile telecommunications sector in China has seen a growth of 13.3 percent year-on-year in its business revenue for the first four months this year, reaching 217.78 billion yuan (33.6 billion U.S. dollars).
As China's biggest wireless service provider with its subscriber over 580 million, China Mobile is ranked as the second most profitable company in China and the fourth largest company in business revenue in 2010, according to an analysis report jointly issued by the China Enterprise Confederation and China Enterprise Directors Association.
The company reported an annual revenue of 485.2 billion yuan last year, up by 7.3 percent from 2009, and the company's net profit last year reached 119.6 billion yuan.
However, the company is also criticized for its dominant market position, which triggered monopoly concerns.
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