China Unicom, SK Telecom eye massive mobile-phone order.(TOP NEWS)(Brief article)

China Telecom, October, 2006

China Unicom and SK Telecom have agreed to jointly purchase millions of cell-phones, hoping that the two firms' purchasing capacities would reduce costs.

The two mobile-phone operators intend to buy the cell-phones from Motorola, Samsung, and LG Electronics. The mobile phones will be delivered to the customers of the firms during the first half of next year. China Unicom and SK Telecom will initially buy six types of mobile phones; orders placed for every model will range from 300,000 to 500,000 cell-phones.

In July, SK Telecom had bought $1 billion worth bonds, convertible into a 6.7 percent stake of the Chinese firm. China's mobile user base could reach to 568.1 million in 2010.