CITIC eyes B&R telecom opportunities

CITIC Telecom CPC, a carrier owned by China's State-owned investment company CITIC, has completed the acquisition of Linx Telecommunication BV, an Amsterdam-based telecom provider.

Linx operates in 14 countries, many of which are within the area covered by the Belt and Road Initiative.

Stephen Ho, CEO of CITIC Telecom CPC, said: "We made this acquisition because Linx Telecommunication has teams, technology, and clients within the Belt and Road economies, from Central and Eastern Europe to Russia." He said Linx offers a route into the region.

"Because many of our existing clients in China are expanding in the areas covered by the Belt and Road Initiative, we are looking to provide them with fast and efficient telecommunications solutions to support their expansion. In particular, we are looking to further invest in Central and Eastern European countries to support our clients."

CITIC Telecom CPC, which established an office in London in 2007, already works with multinational carriers like British Telecom, to provide China with connectivity to their networks. After the acquisition of Linx Telecommunication, the company will have more than 140 points of presence, which are places where long-distance carriers provide connections into a local telephone network.

CITIC Telecom CPC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hong Kong listed CITIC Telecom International Holding. The company was established in 2001, and has 900 employees. In addition to its 140 points of presence, it has 15 cloud-computing platforms and two security operation centers.

The company's European expansion comes at a time when many other Chinese telecommunications companies are also expanding into the United Kingdom.

China Mobile, with 13 terrestrial and submarine cables connecting Asia, Europe, Africa, and the United States, uses its London office as a bridge that deals with a whole host of carriers in the UK and Europe, including BT, Vodafone, AT&T, Belgium Telecom and Orange.

Meanwhile, China's telecommunications equipment giant Huawei has sold network equipment to most of the major carriers in Europe and is working closely with European partners on research and development into 5G technology.