China Netcom Group, the country's second largest fixed-line operator, said Friday that it is going to kick off China Netcom Northern Communications Co Ltd (Netcom North) on January 8.

And a few days after Netcom North, China Netcom Southern Communications Co Ltd (Netcom South) will also be officially unveiled, said an official with China Netcom Group who declined to be named.

"We haven't set the exact date for Netcom South,"  she said.

It is reported that Leng Rongquan, vice-president of China Netcom will head Netcom North, while Edward Tian, president of Netcom International, will also chair Netcom South.

In fact, China Netcom Group announced early last year that the company was to adjust its business into three different subsidiaries including Netcom North, Netcom South and Netcom International.

"All the incorporations including related assets, capital, business and employees are going on very well," she said.

For Netcom North, it incorporates China Network Communications Corp's businesses in the northern 10 provinces into China Netcom's local companies.

As for Netcom South, it will incorporate China Netcom's 15 southern provinces and China Network Communications Corp, a subsidiary of China Netcom's businesses in the southern 21 provinces.

In November, China Netcom International Communications Co Ltd (Netcom International) was established to be the exclusive branch for China Netcom to deal in international-related businesses.

Sources close to China Netcom said that the next step for China Netcom is to build up China Netcom Shareholding Co Ltd, enabling the company to go public in the middle of 2004.

It is reported that China Netcom was in preliminary talks with many major investment bank for listings in Hong Kong and New York, before considering a domestic listing.

Yang Peifang, an industry expert from the Academy of Telecommunications under the Ministry of Information Industry, said he had a positive view on China Netcom's adjustment in the past year as it contributed to improving the efficiency and financial performance for the giant.

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