China Telecom could become the Philippines’ third telecoms operator, according to official representatives. “The Chinese government selected China Telecom to invest in the Philippines upon invitation by President Duterte during the bilateral meeting last November 16”, Eliseo Rio, secretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology, told Reuters. Chinese companies cannot operate alone in the Philippines and need to partner with a local company. The government is now looking at who will partner with China Telecom on a 60-40 basis, Rio said.
According to presidential communications secretary Martin Andanar, China Telecom should partner with a reputable Philippines company with an existing telecoms franchise. “The government is fast-tracking this because consumers are getting annoyed with dropped calls and slow internet connections”, Andanar said.
Philippine Telegraph & Telephone Corp recently said it was in talks with China Telecom and Datang Telecom on strategic partnerships to challenge the nation’s dominant players PLDT and Globe Telecom.
