[Press Release]

December 3, 2002 - Hong Kong - Hutchison Global Communications (HGC) and China Telecom Corporation have reached a capacity expansion agreement to increase the interconnection capacity by 10Gbit/s. The agreement symbolises the first one-and-all 10Gbit/s network expansion treaty ever entered into with China Telecom Corporation by an overseas carrier. Taking into account the existing 2.5Gbit/s, the total network capacity now reaches 12.5Gbit/s.

This capacity expansion exhibits the concrete belief of the urgent needs for cross-border communications services among the two dominant players. It also confirms their confidence in the prospect of the Hong Kong-Mainland network bandwidth business. The agreement was catalysed by the long-term cooperation between the two and their mutual faith in each other's network coverage and premium services.

The 10Gbit/s network expansion cultivates for the Hong Kong-Shenzhen-Guangzhou Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) Ring an additional connection path, which gives rise to the capacities of multi-level network diversity and route diversity. The network stability and scalability are therefore greatly enhanced. The 10Gbit/s SDH Ring connects the two independent gateways located at Man Kam To and Lok Ma Chau near the SAR's border with the two utility towers situated on the Hong Kong Island (Chai Wan) and at the New Territories (Shatin). Both players are given the flexibility to choose network routes that best fit customers' business requirements. Coupled with the existing network, the stability, agility and scalability of the enlarged interconnection network has significantly been elevated.

Mr Wei Leping, China Telecom Corporation's Chief Technology Officer, said, "The China Telecom Corporation will adapt a more ambitious and open attitude, exploit our competitive edges and resources to pursue international and domestic exchanges and cooperation on network and application services development, which are abided by market drives. The China Telecom Corporation will partner with Hutchison Global Communications and other operators to help grow the telecommunications business in China, and to contribute to the provision of speedy and reliable communications services between Hong Kong and the Mainland."

"We are pleased to enter into a 10Gbit/s network capacity expansion agreement with China Telecom Corporation, which we deem historic. The capacity increase goes with our overall business plan and lays a solid foundation for us to building an even closer relationship with China Telecom Corporation in the future," said Mr Peter Wong, HGC's Chief Executive Officer. "The capacity expansion opens up new windows for us to widen our customer profile. We are now able to tailor more effective cross-border communications solutions that meet the demand of a diverse range of customers. We are fully equipped with enlarged network capacity and more advanced technology to meet the ever-increasing global needs for communications solutions, quality and speed.

The capacity expansion signifies a strategic move to complement HGC's overseas business development plot undertaken by the international business division. The Shenzhen representative office, which is expected to be inaugurated early next year, sets the groundwork for HGC to flourish from the communications business between Hong Kong and Southern China. While actively seeking for opportunities to grow into the North, the company expects to set up representative offices in Beijing and Shanghai.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Ms Sally Tsang, Senior Manager, Public Relations
Tel: 2128-6708    Fax: 2187-2055    email: pr@hgc.com.hk