China Unicom cellular subscribers at 12.8 mln at end-2000

HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) - China Unicom Ltd said its cellular subscriber base stood at 12.8 mln as at the end of 2000.	    In a statement, the company said its market share increased to 22 pct at end-2000 from 14.2 pct in 1999.	    The company plans to increase its market share to 35 pct in the long term.	    China Unicom said it had a 1.0 pct market share in long distance phone calls and 21 pct market share for VoIP services.	    As at end-2000, China Unicom had a total of 22.5 mln internet users.	    As up to February this year, China Unicom's parent, China United Communications Corp group, had more than 20 mln cellular subscribers.	    China Unicom sees the total number of cellular subscribers in China reaching some 300 mln by 2005 from 85 mln in 2000.	    Speaking to reporters after making a presentation at a conference, China Unicom's executive director and vice-president Li Zhengmao said the company's promotional tariff package will not be launched before the release of the company's results.	    The company plans to release its 2000 results on April 3.	    Li said the new promotional package is not a price cut, adding that it will not affect the company's average revenue per user.    

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