SHANGHAI/HONG KONG, May 23 (Reuters) - The parent of top wireless carrier China Mobile (0941.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) will take over fixed-line firm Railcom and absorb executives from rivals as Beijing kicks off a long-awaited overhaul of the industry.
Analysts and sources say the government is orchestrating a spate of management changes at the country’s telecoms providers, including fixed-line operators China Telecom (0728.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) and Netcom (0906.HK: Quote, Profile, Research), setting the stage for a merger of sector players. [ID:nHKG165943]
The personnel reshuffle is seen as a first step in a wide-ranging industry shakeup designed to create three industry giants capable of providing a full range of services.
Following are the key people involved:
WANG JIANZHOU, 59, chairman of China Mobile.
Wang has been Chairman/CEO of China Mobile Ltd (0941.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) (CHL.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the world’s largest wireless carrier, since late 2004. He is also President of China Mobile Communications Corp, China Mobile’s parent, which failed in a bid for Millicom International Cellular (MICC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) in 2006, but has since been linked to overseas telecoms acquisitions.
Wang was previously Chairman/CEO of China Unicom Ltd (0726.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) (CHU.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the smaller of the country’s mobile duopoly, working his way up from a telecoms bureau in the eastern city of Hangzhou to become Director General of the Ministry of Information Industry’s planning department.
A professional engineer, with a doctorate in business administration from Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Wang will lead the combined Mobile-Railcom empire.
CHANG XIAOBING, 50, chairman of China Unicom
Chang has been in his current position at Unicom since late 2004. Known for his innovation, Chang worked his way up from the Nanjing Municipal Posts and Telecommunications Bureau to become director of the Ministry of Information Industry’s telecommunications department.
A native of China’s northern Hebei province, Chang is seen as an early driving force encouraging the use of the Internet and mobile services in China.
A professional engineer, Chang has a master’s degree in business administration from Beijing’s prestigious Tsinghua University. He also has a doctorate in business administration from Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
ZHANG CHUNJIANG, 50, chairman of China Netcom
Zhang stepped up to the plate in 2004 to assume control of a then-infant Netcom, created by hiving off a swathe of networks from the country’s fixed-line monopoly. The 50 year-old executive has spent virtually his entire career shuttling between government posts in China’s vast telecommunications bureaucracy.
He has since battled a sliding fixed-line business, espoused corporate governance at the firm, and pushed for the introduction of foreign investors into a sensitive, long-shuttered sector.
Netcom snared Spain’s Telefonica (TEF.MC: Quote, Profile, Research) as a long-term strategic investor and the European firm has since expressed its intention to increase its stake to nearly 10 percent.
The Shandong province native and trained engineer will join China Mobile and become its party boss, a political appointment with little operational oversight.
Zhang has been on the board of Hong Kong’s dominant telco PCCW (0008.HK: Quote, Profile, Research), in which Netcom has a near-20 percent stake, as an non-executive director since 2005.
WANG XIAOCHU, 54, chief executive of China Telecom
Wang Xiaochu has been chief executive of China Telecom (0728.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) since 2004, when he began laying the groundwork for the country’s largest fixed-line operator to enter the fast-growing mobile arena.
Wang, who has spent several years heading China Mobile, has been involved in China’s telecommunications industry as both regulator and participant since graduating from the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications in 1980.
Wang is tipped to retain his post within the China Telecom group, which racks up billions of dollars in profits a year, but — as for all fixed-line carriers — faces slowing growth as subscribers increasingly migrate to mobile services. (Reporting by Judy Hua, Sophie Taylor and Vinicy Chan, Editing by Ian Geoghegan)