Xi Guohua, president of China Netcom, said the company wants to consolidate its internal structure after a major reorganization.

"Going public abroad is something China Netcom will do in the future but we'd rather wait for a more friendly environment in the international capital market," Xi said.

China Netcom's rival in the south, China Telecom, announced at the weekend it would raise up to US$3.68 billion by selling 16.8 billion shares in Hong Kong and New York early next month. Its initial public offering will be the world's third-largest this year.

The country's two mobile carriers, China Mobile and China Unicom, are also absorbing money by issuing corporate bonds and stocks in the domestic stock market.

Xi refused to comment about the major moves in the sector but said China Netcom is keeping calm.

Xi said the company will not rush into overseas capital market before it is fully prepared.

Xi said compared to China Telecom, his company is facing more pressure from internal restructuring, as it was incorporated from three different parties.

China Netcom was set up on May 16 with 10 provincial branches of the former China Telecom and two independent carriers, China Network Communications Co Ltd and Jitong Communications.

China Telecom withdrew to the country's south and became the dominant fixed-line carrier in 21 provinces and autonomous regions.

According to company sources, China Netcom had 74.63 million fixed-line telephone users and 16.7 million Internet users by the end of August.

The company has a fixed asset of 220 billion yuan (US$26.6 billion) and a staff of about 210,000.

China Netcom's total revenue in 2001 was 61.4 billion yuan (US$7.4 billion).

After its debut, China Netcom and Xi kept a low profile and focused on the internal readjustment.

In a conference held recently to prepare for tomorrow's telecom expo, PT/Expo Comm China 2002, which will end on Saturday, Xi said China Netcom will unveil its new structure to the public for the first time this week.

He said the company will highlight its past achievements and future development plans.

"My promise to customers and the government is to make China Netcom an international leading telecom carrier in three to five years," Xi said.

But many efforts are needed to turn China Netcom into a competitive telecom carrier, he said.

"We are very eager for a mobile licence to expand our business spectrum," Xi said.

It is widely believed China Netcom and China Telecom will each get a mobile telecom licence from the Ministry of Information Industry (MII) before the end of 2004 but no exact timetable has been made available.

China has two mobile carriers at the moment.

Wu Jichuan, MII minister, has said the number of licences may double by the end of 2004.

Before getting a mobile licence, China Netcom will aim to absorb more customers and penetrate into China Telecom's business in the south, said Leng Rongquan, vice-president of China Netcom.

Leng said business clients, who make more long distance calls compared to family users, should contribute more to China Netcom's revenue.

(China Daily October 28, 2002)