tremendous opportunities to expand
our footprint. We are focused on high-
er population areas and have a lot of
experience in building networks –
where to put them and how to get
returns from them.”
Good Morning Vietnam
Vietnam is next on
Hutchison Telecom’s expan-
sion radar. The company
recently announced the
signing of a Business
Co-operation Contract
(BCC), with Hanoi Telecom
to develop the nascent local
market. The contract is subject to
final government approval, which is
currently pending.
“Vietnam is a ver y
exciting and challenging
market,
but
challenging mar-
kets are what
Hutchison does
best. We went into
Israel when others
didn’t want to go;
we stayed and
grew into India when many were
leaving; and we made a success of each
of them. We have been very successful
in Hong Kong amidst intense competi-
tion. We are the people who can make a
success of what others consider too
much of a challenge. We believe our
initial investment in Vietnam and cash
cost will be low, so there is good
potential for a substantial return.”
Elsewhere, Hutchison Telecom has
small interests in Sri Lanka, Ghana
and Paraguay.
“These are potentially strong growth
markets but it’s still too early for us
to be widely involved,” says Pennington.
“However, by having a foot in, we
are getting to know the market, getting
to know people. These are intangible
things not yet reflected on the balance
sheet. Our small exposure gives us the
opportunity to
assess mar-
kets. This is
ver y valu-
able for
the future.”
Technically Speaking
There are those who might
argue that second-genera-
tion technology is on the
way out and will soon be
surpassed by newer-genera-
tion technologies such
as 3G.
However, Dennis Lui is
careful to explain that there is a clear
distinction between the telecoms needs
and affordability within emerging
markets compared to developed ones.
“In developed markets such as
Hong Kong there is over 100%
saturation, but in India, for example,
less than 5% of the population has
a mobile phone,” he says.
“At some stage the technology curve
will see India move to 3G. Hong Kong
is sufficiently developed for 3G and 3G
was introduced in Israel in December.
2001
Global customer
base reaches 4.5
million
Acquires licences
to operate GSM
services in
Karnataka, Andra
Pradesh & Chennai
in Indian licence
auction
Launches GSM
services in Macau
2002
Global customer
base reaches
6 million
Buys out
Asia
Global Crossing’s
50% stake in
Hutchison
GlobalCrossing
NEC Corpo-
ration
acquires an
effective 5%
strategic equity
in Hong Kong
mobile operations
2003
Global customer
base reaches
8.9 million
Launches
Hutch
CAT
in Thailand
Adds Punjab,
Haryana, Rajasthan
and UP (East)
circles to India
operations
2004
First in Hong Kong
to roll out world
class 3G service
under the brand
name “3”
Global customer
base reaches
11.2 million
customers at
30 June 2004,
with 1H YoY
growth of 67%
We can introduce new technologies
as they develop and at the right
time for particular markets
Hutchison Global
Communications
joins forces with
PowerCom
,
Vanda Systems
and
GlobalCentre
to form listed company
Hutchison Global
Communications Holdings
Hutchison Telecommunications
International Limited
lists on the
New York and Hong Kong stock
exchanges on Oct. 14 and 15
Hutch India
launches services in UP
(West), Uttaranchal, West Bengal &
Sikkim
Partner
launches 3G services in Israel
S
PHERE
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