China lowers barriers but freezes ratios for foreign telecoms operators

The Chinese government has provided more incentives for foreign-invested telecommunications enterprises (FITEs) to do business in the PRC, through the revision of the Provisions for the Administration of Foreign-invested Telecommunications Enterprises.

The revised regulations have reduced the minimum registered capital requirements for a FITE. For an enterprise that intends to provide basic telecommunications services nationwide or across provinces, the requirement is down from Rmb2 billion (US$292.2 million) to Rmb1 billion. For those that focus on a single province, the requirement is now reduced from Rmb200 million to Rmb100 million.