China kicks open telco VAS doors

In another step towards the liberalization of the Chinese telecom sector, the government plans to allow foreign investment in seven telecom VAS segments.
 
But the relaxed foreign ownership restrictions will currently only apply to the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, state-owned news outlet Xinhua Daily reported
 
The new rules will allow for full foreign ownership in app stores, forwarding services, domestic multi-party communication, call centers and home internet access providers.
 
Foreign investors will also be able to collectively own up to 55% of online data and dealing analysis services. 
 
The Chinese government has been making moves to stimulate competition and bring private capital to the nation's telecom sector. Plans to allow private investment in the sector were announced in June 2012
 
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has also selected 11 private companies to allocate MVNO licenses for a two-year trial period. State-owned China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile were instructed to partner with at least two MVNO hopefuls each.