CCT Telecom to Team Up With Haier to Make Mobile PhonesCCT Telecom Holdings Limited, a Hong Kong-based integrated information technology services provider, announced Sunday it would team up with the mainland's major electric appliances manufacturer Haier to produce cellular phones.The two companies would establish a joint venture to produce mobile phones and the official launch was set on February 6 in Qingdao city, Shandong province in East China, said Clement Mak, chairman of CCT Telecom. While declining to reveal the total sum of investment, Mak said the two sides have invested a big sum since mobile phones production requires high tech and big investment. CCT Telecom and Haier would take advantage of each other's winning edge to seek a big share on the fast growing Chinese market, said Flora Cheng, Executive Director of CCT Telecom. The new joint venture already has two production lines in place, each with a capacity of 2 million mobile phones annually, Flora said, adding that a third production line would be installed later on. Mobile phones manufactured by the joint venture will mainly be launched onto the European and the mainland markets, according to Flora Cheng. CCT Telecom has witnessed much development within the 20 years since its founding and the turnover of CCT Tech, the Telecom products manufacturing and distributing arm of CCT Telecom, increased from 622 million HK dollars (US$79.7 million) in 1998 to 1,245 million HK dollars (US$159.6 million), a growth of 100 percent, according to Mak. CCT Telecom has a great interest in the mainland telecom market since it is the most fast growing in the world and has great potential, said Mak, adding that the company has already had a strong presence on the mainland, Mak cited that CCT Telecom completed its Huiyang Production Plant in 1999, which covers an area of 260,000 square meters, hires over 10,000 employees and produced 15,000,000 units of cordless phones in 2000. |
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