China Mobile Communications Corp, the largest mobile operator in
the world, aims to export its experience of balancing social
responsibility with business growth to Pakistan, where it has just
taken full control of Paktel.
Wang Jianzhou, CEO of China Mobile and chairman and CEO of its
Hong Kong-listed arm China Mobile Ltd, said social responsibility
should be a top priority for companies that aspire to become global
giants.
In the past seven years, Beijing-headquartered China Mobile has
more than tripled the number of its subscribers since its
incorporation in 2000 and has become the largest telecom company in
terms of subscribers and market capitalization.
"Global growth companies face better opportunities and more
challenges, but they also have more social responsibilities," said
Wang at the Inaugural Annual Meeting of the New Champions organized
by the World Economic Forum in Dalian.
"They should take social responsibility into account when they
start their businesses," added Wang, a mentor to the new champion
companies, together with Intel Chairman Craig Barrett and Citibank
NA Chairman, President and CEO William R Rhodes.
China Mobile has seen its subscribers from the rural regions of
the country rise by almost 40 percent in the first half.
Driven by a strong increase in customer numbers and good
momentum in its value-added services, China Mobile reported 26
percent year-on-year growth in the first half to 37.91 billion
yuan.
At the end of July, it had 338 million subscribers, two-thirds
of the total mobile users in the world's most populous country.
The Chinese giant, which took over the fifth-largest Pakistani
mobile operator Paktel in March and renamed it CMPak, will follow
the same principle to strike a balance between profit and social
responsibility in Pakistan.
"We always see ourselves as a local Pakistani company and are
highly committed to the market there," said Wang.
His company has committed to invest $800 million in two years to
upgrade and expand the networks in Pakistan.
At the end of June, there were 63.15 million mobile subscribers
in Pakistan, rising by 45 percent.
On September 2, CMPak won approval from the Pakistani government
to secure a 15,000-sq-m plot to build a campus with integrated
functions of research and development, training, and commercial
use.
(China Daily September 7, 2007)
