February 13, 2004 Hong Kong -- China Netcom (CNC) has purchased full control of Asia Netcom, a company founded in March 2003 by a consortium lead by CNC that included Newbridge Capital and Softbank Asia Infrastructure Fund. Asia Netcom is the former Asia Global Crossing and providers IP-based network services.
"Our partners, Newbridge Capital and Softbank Asia Infrastructure Fund, have made significant contributions in the complex acquisition process and establishment of Asia Netcom," said Edward Tian, CEO of China Netcom International and Chairman/CEO of Asia Netcom. "Asia Netcom is a remarkable turnaround story and remains an integral part of China Netcom's international strategy."
The partners recently agreed to exit the consortium at this time to support CNC in facilitating its restructuring process. Since its launch last year, Asia Netcom's business has been managed as a stand-alone entity and will continue to do so as there are no immediate plans to fully integrate Asia Netcom into China Netcom's mainland operations.
"In the past year, Asia Netcom has made significant strides in the Asia Pacific data services space and we continue to build up our products and services portfolio to meet the growing demands of Carriers and Enterprise customers in the Asia Pacific region and beyond," said Bill Barney, Asia Netcom's president and COO. "Together with CNC, we look forward to further enhancing our unprecedented performance levels for IP services and connectivity into the world's fastest growing economies."
Asia Netcom provides city-to-city connectivity, data communications, and IP-based solutions and services to enterprise, ISP, and carrier customers in the Asia Pacific region. Asia Netcom is headquartered in Hong Kong with local offices in "all major Asian markets," the United States, and Europe. Asia Netcom owns and operates its own 19,500-km regional fiber-optic submarine cable system.