CATR (China Academy of Telecommunication Research) released the Report on Foreign Enterprises Investing and Operating Telecommunication Services on February 23, which suggests that 67 foreign investing telecom enterprises have gained licenses to operate telecom services by the end of December 2016, consisting of 46 counterparts allowed by MIIT and 21 counterparts from Shanghai Free-Trade Zone admitted by Shanghai Communications Administration.
46 enterprises admitted by MIIT gained 81 business licenses in total and the rest got 25 licenses, and the former includes 17 registered in Beijing, 11 registered in Guangdong, 9 registered in Shanghai.
Of 67 enterprises gaining licenses, half come from Hong Kong while 15 percent and 12 percent are from the United States and Japan respectively.
