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China Telecom added over 60 million new 4G subscribers to its books in 2017 and hinted that the firm may be looking into expansion into the Filipino mobile market
China’s third largest telecoms operator, China Telecom, has posted a 3.3 per cent jump in net profits for 2017, as the company looks to continue its expansion at home and abroad.
Full year net profits for 2017 stood at 18.62 billion yuan (£2.1 billion), beating analysts’ expectations. Total revenues for the year also increased, edging up by 3.9 per cent to 366.2 billion yuan (£41.4 billion).
China Telecom added 60.17 million new 4G subscribers last year, to bring the total number of people currently signed up to its 4G network plans to 182 million.
China Telecom has long been mooted as the Chinese player set to enter the Filipino market, forming a third telco at President Duterte’s behest. The company has so far remained tight lipped over any proposed entry into the Filipino market. However, China Telecom’s chairman and CEO, Yang Jie, told the Nikkei Asian Review that "we are interested in all the possibilities that are presented to us." Jie subsequently confirmed that the official application process has not begun, and said that China Telecom was still in the process of "further understanding and communicating" on any proposed deal.
