China expands foreign investment in telecom sector with pilot program in Shanghai
To further open up its telecom sector to foreign investment, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has allowed four foreign-invested firms in Shanghai to launch pilot operations in value-added telecom services, contributing to China's cloud computing and related industries.
These four companies are among the first 13 enterprises nationwide to receive approval, alongside four in Beijing, three in Shenzhen, and two in Hainan province.
The Shanghai-based firms, located in Pudong New Area and the Lin-gang Special Area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, will explore emerging industries like digital healthcare, fintech, and smart human resource services.
This pilot initiative is the first time China has extended the Internet Data Center (IDC) and Internet Resource Collaboration Services (IRCS) to overseas capitals beyond Hong Kong and Macao.
Moreover, foreign shareholding restrictions have been lifted, enabling these firms to operate wholly owned telecom services such as IDC, online data processing, and internet of things systems upon approval.
Several more foreign companies are currently working on their pilot applications, with additional approvals expected in the near future, according to the Shanghai Communications Administration.
Source: Jiefang Daily
