Telecom operators invested 46.59 billion yuan (US$5.64 billion) in fixed assets from July to September, 48.9 percent up on the second quarter, which was only 31.29 billion yuan (US$3.79 billion).

The rebound of the investment is mainly due to the structure adjustment of the telecom industry in May, said Ma Hui, vice-president of CCID.

Affected by the sluggish telecom industry worldwide and the break-up of China's major fixed-line carriers in May, investment decreased greatly in the first half of this year.

The investment in the sector was 49.93 billion yuan (US$6.04 billion) by the end of June, a 36.5 percent decline compared with the same period last year, according to the MII's statistics.

After the completion of structure adjustment, telecom operators began to increase their investment in infrastructure construction to improve competitiveness, said Ma.

For this reason, investment in the fourth quarter is expected to maintain a rapid growth, however, the total investment this year is not likely to reach last year's record of 264.8 billion yuan (US$32 billion).

Yang Peifang, an industry expert from the Academy of Telecommunications under the MII, said the chief reasons for investment growth, despite a global slow down in the telecom industry, are the tremendous market potential and the rapid development of the domestic economy.

With a GDP growth rate of 7.8 percent in the first half of the year, the revenue in the telecom sector increased about 15 percent.

According to CCID, revenue of telecom operators accumulated to 298.7 billion yuan (US$36.16 billion), an increase of 15.4 percent compared with the same period last year.

Mobile telecoms were the highlights of the industry in the third quarter.

(China Daily October 29, 2002)