Advertisment

Hutchison 3G business behind target

author-image
CIOL Bureau
Updated On
New Update

HONG KONG:Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. is a year behind target in its U.K. third-generation mobile phone operations and expects its overall 3G business to be cashflow positive in 2008, chairman Li Ka-shing told Forbes.

Advertisment

"With 3G, we are facing more competition than we originally expected, and we are slightly over one year behind budget in the U.K. But we are doing well in other locations, such as Hong Kong, Australia and Italy," Li said in a transcript of an interview posted at www.forbes.com.

Shares in ports-to-telecoms conglomerate Hutchison, which is spending roughly US$25 billion to build out its third-generation mobile phone business, fell 2.2 percent on Thursday to HK$79.85.

Hutchison has been the most aggressive investor in multimedia-enabled 3G telecoms in Europe, but the loss-making business has been a drag on its share price since 2000.

Advertisment

Li said in the interview conducted on December 4 that the company had 14 million 3G subscribers globally, and that the Italian 3G unit would be its first to become profitable.

"Despite strong competition, our losses are narrowing every year, while our revenues are increasing. The handsets are better, nicer, smaller, quicker," Li was quoted as saying.

"It's only a matter of time before we reach profitability. The loss in 2006 was much less than in 2005, and the losses will continue to narrow in 2007. And we will be cash flow positive in 2008," he was quoted as saying.

"In telecommunications, another one or two years is nothing. It is a growth business, and we expect 3G to be a major contributor to our group in the future."

tech-news