Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has offered China an opportunity to create a third telecommunication provider in the country, his spokesman said Monday, using rapidly-warming ties with Beijing to break a duopoly that consumers blame for poor services.

Duterte, who has courted Beijing while loosening his nation's alliance with the United States, made the offer in a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Manila earlier this month, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said.

"President Duterte offered to the People's Republic of China the privilege to operate the third telecoms carrier in the country," Roque told reporters.

He said they have not yet designated the Chinese company that would enter the Philippine market.

But Roque added that this would be an integral step to ending the "duopoly" of two local firms, Globe Telecom Inc. and PLDT Inc.

Consumers have complained that the dominance of these two companies has left the Philippines lagging behind its neighbours in telecoms services.

These reportedly include the slowest average internet speed in the Asia-Pacific.

Asked why Duterte had singled out China to enter the local telecom market, Roque replied: "the president said that China has the capital and the technology to provide efficient telecom service."

Roque also said the these Chinese companies also have large numbers of subscribers, proving their capabilities.

"Consider also the proximity and the fact that we want to avail of as much economic advantage that we could arising from the renewed friendly ties with China," he added.

A $329 million national broadband contract with Chinese telecom giant ZTE was cancelled in 2007 after a bribery scandal that severely embarrassed then-president Gloria Arroyo.

In contrast to his predecessors, Duterte has pursued closer economic, political and defence ties with China since he was elected last year, even setting aside Manila's territorial dispute with Beijing over large parts of the South China Sea.

He is also expecting to receive large amounts of Chinese aid and investment to upgrade the Philippines' inadequate infrastructure system.

However critics have questioned whether the outspoken leader is getting the best deal.

str-mm/klm

ZTE

Tweet

China to build $1.6 bn aluminium plant in Tajikistan
Dushanbe, Tajikistan (AFP) Nov 17, 2017
China will build an aluminium factory worth $1.6 billion in ex-Soviet Tajikistan, the Central Asian country's leading smelter said Friday, in a sign of Beijing's increasing influence over the economy of its resource-poor neighbour. China - which already owns over half of Tajikistan's external debt - has long sought to boost ties in the ex-Soviet Central Asia region which Russia has traditi ... read more

Related Links
Global Trade News

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only