Shanghai Symphony Telecommunications Co Ltd (UNISITI), the first telecom joint venture in China, said it aimed to become profitable in four years after a shift in its business focus.

"I am sure that we will get back in the black five years after the founding of UNISITI,'' said company President Rick Luk yesterday.

Luk said that after a "banner'' but "trying'' year in 2002, UNISITI had formulated its new strategy for the future.

UNISITI, the first telecom joint venture between Shanghai Telecom, a subsidiary of the biggest Chinese fixed telecom operator China Telecom, US giant AT&T and Shanghai Information Investment, was launched in March last year in Shanghai.

The Chinese Government promised to open its telecom market in three years after its entry into the World Trade Organization in December, 2001, but the joint venture with AT&T was an exception.

The company aimed to build a broadband network in the Pudong New Area in Shanghai to meet the demands for high-speed Internet connection when its establishment was approved by the Chinese Government.

But last year, the company found that demand had shrunk and the international telecom environment worsened, so it scrapped the plan and decided to build a global seamless Internet protocol (IP) network for multinationals in China with the support of China Telecom and AT&T.

Luk, also vice-president of AT&T Asia-Pacific Group Ltd, believes the decision was the correct one, as it saved heavy investment in broadband infrastructure and avoided direct competition with its controlling investor China Telecom, which is also involved in broadband networks.

UNISITI's main businesses include an IP virtual private network for business customers, broadband IP network and e-commerce solutions.

In the past 17 months, UNISITI gained about 40 customers, including contracts worth several million dollars from China Overseas Shipping Corporation to build networks to connect it with its Asian and European operations.

The company also signed with the Zhangjiang Science and Technology Park in Shanghai to supply and sell network services to organizations in the park.

Luk believes his company's multinational customers will increase from the present 40 to 500 by 2007.

At the same time, UNISITI is also planning to expand its services from the Pudong New Area in Shanghai to the whole of Shanghai and Beijing and Guangzhou in five years' time.

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