Beijing Xinwei Telecom Technology Inc, the core developer of China's home-grown TD-SCDMA 3G standard, will hold its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) in Shenzhen by the end of March, a source close to the situation said.

"Xinwei Telecom is expected to hold its share offering on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange by the end of March," said Xiong Yuzhu, vice-president of WI Harper Group, a venture-capital firm that invested in Xinwei in 1997.

Xinwei Telecom, founded in 1995, is a joint venture between Datang Group and US-based Cwill. The company has sole intellectual property rights for the synchronous code division multiple access (SCDMA) standard for wireless access service, the core technology behind China's TD-SCDMA 3G standard.

"We will have a domestic IPO instead of an overseas share offer," said Li Fang, an official from the company's marketing department, declining to reveal further details.

Xinwei Telecom is now the main equipment provider for SCDMA products. The SCDMA technology was selected by China's Ministry of Information Industry as the preferred solution to provide telephone services to rural villages.

The SCDMA technology has been deployed by two major carriers, China Telecom and China Netcom, in 25 provinces and autonomous regions in China, the company said. Mongolia and Sri Lanka have also adopted the SCDMA technology to establish a commercial network.

The Beijing-based company has reportedly been seeking an overseas listing to finance its expansion since 2004. The company achieved five-fold growth in sales revenue during 2004 and 2006, according to its website. Moreover, it had 1 billion yuan in sales and 200 million yuan in profit in 2005, according to an earlier report by the 21st Century Business Herald.

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