I am writing in response to Joseph Y. Hui's letter headlined, 'Natural market monopoly no longer exists' (South China Morning Post, July 19).
Professor Hui expressed his views on Hongkong Telecom's international service franchise, and various compensation issues related to the franchise.
We take issue with his comments.
As our discussions with the Government about the provision of international services are now in the earliest stage of development, it seems unrealistic to speculate on how this topic will evolve or be resolved. And, premature suppositions about the financial aspects of this dialogue may, in fact, be confusing and misleading to the Hong Kong community.
The continuation of our international franchise until 2006 is the cornerstone and certainty on which we base our long-term strategic planning - a process necessary for any successful business operation.
One core element in this planning process is determining our level of investment in Hong Kong's telecommunications infrastructure.
During the past five years, we have invested $17.7 billion, nearly 50 per cent of operating profit, in the development of network capacity, Value Added Services, Interactive Multimedia Services, and the GSM mobile network.
