SUNDAY Communications in consortium to bid for Singapore 3G licence

HONG KONG (AFX-ASIA) - SUNDAY Communications Ltd said it will participate in a consortium to bid for one of Singapore's third-generation mobile services licences.	    Group managing director Craig Ehrlich however declined to identify the other members of the consortium, though he confirmed a company has been set up and SUNDAY hopes to have a majority stake in the venture.	    SUNDAY has submitted an application to pre-qualify for Singapore's 3G auction.	    SUNDAY and its partners will be notified on April 2 whether they qualify for the bidding process and, if successful, will have to submit an initial offer together with a bank guarantee on April 9.	    The auction for 3G spectrum rights in Singapore is scheduled to begin on  April 23.	    Ehrlich said bidding for a 3G licence in Singapore is unlikely to strain SUNDAY's finances as the company has 1.7 bln hkd in cash and undrawn facilities.	    The managing director declined to say whether SUNDAY will seek 3G licences in countries other than Singapore and Hong Kong, its home market.	    If a 3G licence proves excessively expensive in Hong Kong, SUNDAY will opt to become a mobile virtual network operator by leasing 3G spectrum from other licence holders, Erlich said.	    For now, the company is not seeking any partners for a 3G licence in Hong Kong.	    "SUNDAY is a very stable and big company. We don't necessarily need any partners but we will still keep it (the option) open," Erlich said. 

Related stock : (NIL)