As so-called "Telecom Olympia" ITU (International Telecommunication Union) Telecom World 2006 dropped its curtain down here Friday, many participants agree the Asian market is a promising land for the world telecom industry and holds great opportunities for international telecommunication technology (ICT).

This event, the first ever held outside Geneva in its history, attracted almost all global telecom giants except Nokia and over 140 Chinese enterprises, making a contrast to the last one in which Siemens, Ericsson, Alcatel were collectively absent.

"It is not easy for Hong Kong to win the hosting right," elected Vice Secretary General of ITU Zhao Houlin said. Since many multi-national telecom companies agree that China and Asian markets are growing rapidly while the European market is already fostered, so such an event should be held in a place close to developing markets.

Over 50 Canadian companies attended this year's expo. "Although I can hardly imagine how important this event will be in ITU history by now, I can say it is one of the best that I have attended, " Canada's Department of Industry Communications Research Center President Veena Rawat said, adding that she was very much impressed by the fast development in the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong telecom industry.

At the two-storeyed Siemens exhibition pavilion, communication official Uta Apel said Asian telecom markets, particularly in China and India, are growing surprisingly fast. Siemens has attached great importance to the Chinese market and has invested 200 million euros (240 million U.S. dollars) in the research of 3G standard TD-SCDMA. It has also established a joint venture with China's Huawei.

Allen Timpany, CEO of Vanco, the leading global Virtual Network Operator listed in London, said its company has reached an milestone of 100 percent growth in the Asia-Pacific region and 150 percent in China over the past 12 months. During the period, Vanco has doubled the number of sites under management in the region to 2,300 and opened an office in Shanghai. It plans to open a new office in Hong Kong in two months in order to meet the need of business expansion.

China has endorsed TD-SCDMA as its standard for 3G mobile communication and pledged to put it into commercial operation during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Since the timing of 3G issue has yet decided, Chinese government officials, Chinese enterprises' directors and even Chinese reporters were the targets of multi-national companies.

China Day, the first in the history of ITU's Telecom World expo, is seen as a climax of exchanges between Chinese telecom industry and its counterparts around the world.

"This expo is better than I have imagined," ITU Secretary General Yoshio Utsumi said.

Hong Kong's Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology Joseph Wong said ITU Telecom World 2006 has generated an over-expected 900 million HK dollars (115.38 million U.S. dollars) for Hong Kong's coffers.

The event has also attracted 62,000 visitors, including 540 CEOs and officials from 48 countries and regions, another figure over expectation according to ITU.

Source: Xinhua