A WorldCom bankruptcy would strengthen rather than hurt Asian competitors, according to telecommunications industry analysts and executives.
Some operators such as Pacific Century CyberWorks would suffer in the short term by losing WorldCom as a client but they would benefit from the elimination of a competitor which recorded sales of US$1 billion in the region last year.
The second-largest United States long distance telephone company on Tuesday declared it had inflated profit by US$3.9 billion last year, marking another step closer to bankruptcy for the debt-laden firm.
WorldCom's revelations also triggered renewed concern over the financial health of Asian telecoms firms and their possible exposure to the debt-laden group.
One senior executive with a cable operator, which sold capacity to WorldCom in Asia, said while it could lose a significant customer, this would not mean less business.
'Should WorldCom fail, it might not be a bad thing for us. We do not have to face a major competitor, which is very aggressive in Asia,' he said.
Analysts said WorldCom, which served multinational corporates such as US consumer group Procter & Gamble, British oil giant BP Amoco, Japanese car manufacturer Toyota Motor and Hong Kong shipping firm Orient Overseas Container Line, would find it hard to keep customers.
