China Netcom Acquires Asia Netcom

HONG KONG -- Asia Netcom and China Netcom Corporation International today announced that China Netcom (CNC) has purchased full control of Asia Netcom, a company founded in March 2003 by a consortium lead by CNC which included Newbridge Capital and Softbank Asia Infrastructure Fund.

In its first year of operation, since the consortium took over key assets of the former Asia Global Crossing, Asia Netcom has grown from a virtually unknown entity to one of Asia Pacific's leading providers of IP-based network solutions.

"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 Chief Operating Officer. "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."

China Netcom Corp. Ltd.

Asia Netcom