The first of the bidders for Hong Kong’s fourth mobile phone network are coming out of the woodwork with the emergence of a consortium comprising Sun Hung Kai Properties, ABC Communications Ltd and McCaw Cellular Communications Inc. An unnamed fourth company is involved, but the consortium is being very mysterious about this enigmatic participant, saying only that it is a company connected with the Ministry of Posts & Telecommunications of the Peoples’ Republic of China – no doubt a very useful connection for 1997 when the Crown Colony changes hands. Various publications have tried to wheedle out of Sun Hung Kai the identity of the Chinese partner, but with no results. However its business director, Douglas Li, told the South China Morning Post that the consortium is willing to spend up to $600m on the network’s initial set up costs and that he hoped that the Chinese connection would eventually pave the way to expansion on the mainland. Unsuprisingly the consortiun has said that it will use the digital Groupe Speciale Mobile standard from Day One. The companies make a formidable combination and Sun Hung Kai Properties is financially strong with existing interests in one of the four Telepoint service operators. ABC Communications was a pioneer in the Hong Kong radiopaging market and now has some 110,000 subscribers.
