Private companies seek telecom entry

More than 60 private companies in China have applied to enter the telecommunications industry, Chinese media said on Tuesday, adding the first private-owned telecom provider is likely to begin operations in June.

The applicants, most of them Internet companies, are looking for licenses to tap into value-added businesses, including data center and Internet-based services, said Economic Information, a Chinese language newspaper owned by the Xinhua News Agency.

The nation’s top information technology giants, such as Huawei and Alibaba Group, have passed a regulatory inspection, it added, citing an anonymous source.

China opened the telecom industry to private capital earlier this year to boost domestic investment.