China's Internet Market Doubles in the First Half of 1998.

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 1, 1998--China's Internet market has picked up growth momentum in the first half of 1998 with registered Internet users reaching 1.175 million by the end of June 1998, according statistics recently released by the China National Network Information Center (CNNIC). This is almost twice as much as the number of Internet users at the end of 1997 which stood at 620,000 nationwide.

CNNIC statistics show that currently the aggregate bandwidth of international gateway connecting China with the global Internet is 85 Mbps. Direct links are with the United States, Germany, France, Japan and Hong Kong. International bandwidth usage is divided as follows: World Wide Web 82.2%, E-mail 9.1%, FTP 7.2% and Telnet 0.8%.

The two major commercial Internet service providers in China are ChinaNet, run by China Telecom under the Ministry of Information Industry and ChinaGBN (Golden Bridge Network) built and operated by Ji Tong Communications Co., which was established by the former Ministry of Electronics Industry. Unicom-Sparkice, a joint venture between China Unicom and Sparkice, is another major Internet service provider in China.

According to Edward Zeng, CEO of Unicom-Sparkice, his company will have about 25% commercial ISP market after the proposed merger between Unicom-Sparkice and Info Highway, another major ISP in China. Unicom-Sparkice has opened six Internet Cafes in Beijing and is planning to unveil 100 more throughout China. The company is constructing an English/Chinese electronic commerce site called ChinaRep, which will provide company and product information, homepage design services, Chinese/English translation and secretarial services, and access to its Dragon Pulse, a list of about one million Chinese firms.

A license has just been granted to Unicom-Sparkice by China Unicom for the provision of Internet Telephony, Internet Fax and Internet Backbone services by Sparkice, said Mr. Zeng. The Internet Telephony service proposed by Sparkice will cost 10 cents for a call from China to the United States per minute, significantly less than what China Telecom charges to make the connection. Mr. Zeng said that he has obtained an e-commerce banking license from the Bank of China that enables him to offer on-line banking via the Internet.

Mr. Zeng will give a speech on the emerging Internet market in China at the upcoming China Telecom 2000 conference in New York on September 29-30, 1998 organized by Information Gatekeepers. Other keynote speakers are from China Telecom, China Unicom, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, and HuaGuang CATV Co. Additionally, executives from the following organizations will speak at the conference: the Chinese Embassy, World Bank, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Barclays Capital, Jardine Fleming Securities, ChinaVest, Cornerstone Financial, Globalstar, Lucent, Nortel, Motorola, Ericsson, Qualcomm, Tyco Submarine Systems, NeTrue, New Era, World Communications Group, AmTec, Coudert Brothers, Paul Weiss, Allen & Overy and others. China Telecom 2000 - Investment and Finance Opportunities in China is the only high level telecom summit on China where marketing expertise, technology and capital converge.

To register for China Telecom 2000, contact: Joe Connolly, Marketing Director, Information Gatekeepers, Tel: [phone], or 1-617-232-3111, Fax: [phone], E-mail: [e-mail]. Please visit IGI's web site (www.igigroup.com) for registration and conference program information.

    CONTACT: Information Gatekeepers
              Joe Connolly, 617/232-3111
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