SmarTone Telecommunications Holdings has confirmed an alliance with a licensed vendor of mainland SIM cards, which it says outpaces rivals seeking a foothold in the lucrative market. Chief executive Hubert Ng Ching-wah said yesterday that the company had recently signed a co-operative contract with privately owned KinGold Group which owns a licence to distribute China Ministry of Post and Telecommunications' SIM cards in Guangdong province. SIM cards enable a mobile phone user to be connected to his network. SmarTone will offer mobile expertise such as customer services and retailing techniques because property developer KinGold, one of the 10 licensees in the province, had no exposure to telecommunications, he said. SmarTone aims to bring its Hong Kong retailing services to the mainland. 'We're negotiating on proposals such as how much the royalty fee is if KinGold's retail outlets adopt SmarTone's corporate name as well as how to share profits by selling a new SIM card in China,' Mr Ng said.
