LONDON -- Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel), the leading telecommunications company in Asia, has secured a landmark business agreement with China Telecom, the incumbent telecommunications service provider in China, to offer high quality intra-corporate communications services between China and the rest of the world, most significantly the major business cities like Hong Kong, London, New York, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Taipei and Tokyo.

SingTel is one of the first foreign carriers to establish a business agreement with China Telecom to offer business customers a one-stop service for all their data communications needs to any destination in China.

The services which include International Frame Relay, Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and Internet Protocol Virtual Private Network (IP-VPN) will be delivered via SingTel's globally managed network called ConnectPlus and China Telecom's domestic infrastructure. Targeted at multinationals and business users who have operations in China, these services provide users with proactive monitoring and a single point of contact for ordering and billing.

Customers can order the data services through the 31 SingTel Global Offices around the world or China Telecom in China. Both parties will provide end-to-end service including co-ordination with third party telecommunications service providers, network planning and design, full technical support and providing a single bill.

"We are pleased to be among the first foreign carriers to conclude this data service agreement with China Telecom," said Mr Chua Hock Yong, Managing Director for SingTel Europe. "Customers seeking to establish intra-corporate communications networks to and from China no longer have to deal with multiple parties. Our agreement with China Telecom enables us to provide them with a hassle-free service to any destination in China and an assurance that the quality of their data networks will be high-quality, robust and consistent."

SingTel's ConnectPlus network covers 25 cities in 18 countries and territories around the world. SingTel and China Telecom will appoint, train and assign experienced personnel on the ground to provide helpdesk and technical support.

This tie-up with China Telecom marks another important milestone for SingTel in its development of telecommunications services with China. In July 1999, SingTel and China Telecom jointly established a Voice-over-Internet- Protocol (VoIP) link to support international voice services between Singapore and China.

Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (SingTel)

China Telecommunications Corp.