CHINA Telecom Corp., China’s third-largest carrier, is seeking private investment to help it develop new businesses like online payment systems and social networking, domestic media reported yesterday.

    “Joint ventures and acquisitions are both possible ways for us to cooperate with private firms,” said Wang Xiaochu, China Telecom’s chairman, according to a report in China Daily.

    “We are ready to leave operating rights to smaller but more capable shareholders even when China Telecom controls the majority of shares,” Wang said.

    China’s top conglomerates, including China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) and investment company CITIC Group, have announced spin-offs and restructuring plans in recent months, while local authorities have begun experimenting with new management structures.

    The moves follow the November announcement by China’s Communist Party that the government would push for reforms to increase the role of the market and private sector in State-owned enterprises (SOEs), widely seen as inefficient. China’s three State-owned telecommunications carriers have been targeted to push ahead with new measures.

    The companies — China Mobile Ltd., China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. and China Telecom — are also seeing the introduction of private competition in the form of mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), who lease network capacity from the carriers and sell their own subscription packages to customers.

    China will also trial a new value-added tax for the carriers from June 1, which analysts say will have a negative impact on their profits. (SD-Agencies)