Mobile Network Operator

China Mobile – China’s Largest Mobile Network Operator.

China Mobile is the largest mobile network operator in the world based on capitalization. It was founded in 1999 as a result of the spinning off of China Telecommunications Corporation. Previously, it was known as China Telecom (Hong Kong) Limited, incorporated in 1997. The company is serving over 946.73 million people globally. China Mobile trades on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as SEHK.

CMHK, Zong, and CML ink are some of its subsidiaries, and over 456000 people are working for the company in its global offices. The company recorded revenue of CNY746 billion in 2019, and total assets owned by the company in the same year were CNY1629 billion. The company is operational in countries like China, Hong Kong (as CMHK), Pakistan (as Zong), Japan, Thailand, United Kingdom, Singapore, and Canada.

The Founding of China Mobile

China Mobile Limited is a China state-owned and publically traded company. It was founded as China Telecom (Hong Kong) Limited, on 3 September 1997, in Hong Kong. With the inception of the company, it was listed on the New York Stock Exchange on 22 October 1997, and on the very next day, it was also listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. The company raised a sum of US$4.2 billion in its Initial Public Offering.

In the three years of its beginning, China Mobile made acquisitions of companies like Beijing Mobile, Shanghai Mobile, Tianjin Mobile, Hebei Mobile, Liaoning Mobile, Shandong Mobile, and Guangxi Mobile, to expand its operations as a telecom company. In November 2000, the company partnered with Vodafone Group Plc., where the latter acquired new shares of China Mobile (Hong Kong) Limited. The company name was also changed from China Telecom (Hong Kong) Limited to China Mobile (Hong Kong) Limited in the same year.

On 23 October 2001, China Mobile listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, issuing an aggregate of RMB5 billion of corporate bonds in China. The same year, the company also operated its network service on Mount Everest for the first time. In 2004, the company went on to acquire few more telecom companies, including Guizhou Mobile, Yunnan Mobile, Xizang Mobile, and Gansu Mobile. It also bought the shares of China Resources Peoples Telephone Company Limited through its subsidiary company Fit Best Limited in 2005. The next year, the company was renamed China Mobile Limited.

In June 2006, China Mobile partnered with News Corporation and STAR Group Limited to enter the wireless media business. Later, in 2010, the company also stepped into the mobile finance and mobile e-Commerce businesses through a partnership with SPD Bank.

China Mobile obtained the 4G (TD-LTE) license in 2013 and launched a 4G commercial service in 16 cities of China, and also, launched a new brand ‘and!’ in China. In 2014, the company established China Communications Facilities Services Corporation Limited in partnership with China Telecom and China Unicom. It also launched MIGU, a company dedicated to mobile internet, in 2015, which also specialized in digital content services. At the end of 2017, China Mobile launched a free call service for the Chinese people living in the UK with the name CMLink. In 2020, the company valued at HK$965 billion and became the largest red chip company in the world.

Products and Services

China Mobile mainly provides the GSM network service in mainland China and Hong Kong. It also provides data transmission services through GPRS. The company offers the 3G services under the name G3, and for 4G, it uses the trade name and和. Easyown, GoTone, and M-zone are some of its other trade names, providing fixed-line telephony, mobile telephony, broadband internet, digital television as well as internet television services.

The CEO at China Mobile

Li Yue is a renowned Chinese businessman, who is serving as the CEO of China Mobiles since September 2019. Yue is born and brought up in China. He went to the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications to obtain a bachelor’s degree in the telephone exchange and joined Tianjin University to complete a master’s degree in business administration. Later, he joined the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and earned a doctorate in business administration.

Yashica Vashishtha

Yashica is a Software Engineer turned Content Writer, who loves to write on social causes and expertise in writing technical stuff. She loves to watch movies and explore new places. She believes that you need to live once before you die. So experimenting with her life and career choices, she is trying to live her life to the fullest.

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Singtel: The Telecom Conglomerate and The Largest Mobile Network Operator in Singapore.

Leave a Comment / Founder, start-up, Story, Tech Story / By Yashica Vashishtha

Telecommunication is the most successful industry in the world, and there are few names that are the biggest contributor to what the telecommunication industry is today. Singtel is one such company, with almost a century-old history in the field. The company is based in Singapore and has a customer base of over 640 million. Singtel is one of the four leading telecom companies of Singapore, and apart from Singapore, it is serving in countries like Australia and India.

A Brief Introduction

Temasek Holdings is the owner company of Singtel, and it trades with the name Singapore Telecommunications Limited. Previously it was branded as SingTel. It is one of the four largest telecom companies in Singapore and is headquartered at 31 Exeter Rd, Singapore 239732. Singtel specializes in fixed-line and mobile telephony, broadband and fixed-line internet services, digital television as well as in IT and network services. As of 2020, the total recorded annual revenue of the company was SGD16.54 billion. Amobee, Dataspark Pte. Ltd., Hooq Digital, Singtel Innov8, NCS Pte Ltd, and Trustwave Holdings are some of its subsidiary companies.

The Establishment of Singtel

The history of Singtel dates back to the era of the private telephone exchange in 1883. Singapore got its first telephone network handled by Oriental Telephone and Electric Company (OTEC). OTEC operated the local telephone line for about 25 years, and in 1907 it came under the control of the Central Telephone Exchange in Hill Street. The telephone companies then were under the control of British interests, which changed in the mid of 1950s.

In 1955, the Singapore government incorporated a separate entity to control the telephone networks in the country. The entity was a statutory body and was called the Singapore Telephone Board (STB). After working independently for about 20 years, STB was merged with the Telecommunications Authority of Singapore (TAS), which made the local telecom operations of STB go international. In 1982, the postal services of Singapore were also merged with the telecom services of Singapore.

In 1992, the Singapore telecom merger was again split back into three entities; the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore (TAS), Singapore Telecommunications Private Limited, and Singapore Post Private Limited. This spin-off also formed a subsidiary company named Telecommunications Equipment, which later became Singtel. This subsidiary was formed to make the telecom operations of the company expand to other countries as well. In 1992, the company was renamed Singtel, and a new logo was also introduced for it.

The Growth Years

In 1993, Singtel had the largest IPO of Singapore and was listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange on 1 November 1993. The same year, the company also entered the Philippines. In 1997, Singtel acquired National Computer Systems (NCS), and in 1999, it acquired a stake in Thailand’s Advanced Info Service (AIS). By the beginning of the 2000s, the company had entered countries like India, Australia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Africa, by acquiring shares in companies like Airtel, Optus, and Telkomsel.

Singtel also started its business in the field of enterprise solutions and investment business. In 2010, the company founded Innov8, an investment company to invest in innovative technologies. In 2012, Singtel acquired a digital marketing company named Amobee, and in 2015, the company took over the operations of a leading US cybersecurity firm, Trustwave. The same year, Singtel came with an instant message app Wavee to compete with the already existing apps like Skype and WhatsApp. The users could make video and audio calls through the app.

The Company joined its hands with companies like Etisalat, SoftBank, and Telefónica for a Global Telco Security Alliance to offer cybersecurity services to companies in 2018. The same year, Singtel established the FutureNow Innovation Centre to enter into the consulting business. Singtel, along with Ericsson and Singapore Polytechnic, started the first live 5G facility to support the 5G ecosystem in Singapore in 2019.

In 2020, Singtel won a 5G license for the nationwide 5G connectivity by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) Singapore.

The CEO

Singtel announced Yuen Kuan Moon to become Group CEO of Singtel on 1 October 2020. He succeeded Chua Sock Koong as the CEO, who retired in January 2021 from her post. Kuan Moon has been with the company since 1993, and over these years, he has handled some major jobs at the marketing, business development, and sales department of the company. Other than being the CEO of Singtel, he also holds the position of chief digital officer in the company.