Having announced year end figures that are up on last year, Hong Kong Telecommunications Ltd admitted that its revenue growth had slowed due to a reduction in international direct dial traffic. Profits rose 15.1% to the equivalent of $1,125m on turnover up 10.8% to $3,480.1m but tariffs to the US, Australia, Canada and the UK were down by 12%. Local telephone services accounted for 12% of revenue with the number of installed lines rising 5.3% to 3.12m. Plans for a cellular project in Peking, under discussion with city authorities since last October, appear to have ground to a halt, although the company has reported record successes in the mobile telcommunications market and believes that with a 34% share of Hong Kong’s mobile market it is now the predominant player. It reported 76,000 new subscribers last year, bringing the total customer base up to 160,000. Announcement of year-end figures also provided an opportunity for the company to reveal its bid for one of six Personal Communications Services licences for radio-based digital networks in a consortium with China’s Ministry of Posts & Telecommunications. The Hong Kong government, which is currently evaluating the bids, said to number 14, will announce licence holders in August. The same partnership will also work together to build a Peking-Hong Kong fibre optic cable link as part of China’s current five-year plan. The link is expected to be completed by 1996. The company has also announced the first in a series of staff cuts and will lay off 300 employees at the end of April. The move is in line with a planned 2,500 reduction in headcount that it announced in March, to be executed over the next three years.
