Armarda Group, the Hong Kong based owner of China Mobile Satellite Communications Group (CMSCG), is understood to be seeking to raise in the region of US$50m in new financing to help fund the construction of a satellite gateway in Miyun County, just…
Armarda Group, the Hong Kong based owner of China Mobile Satellite Communications Group (CMSCG), is understood to be seeking to raise in the region of US$50m in new financing to help fund the construction of a satellite gateway in Miyun County, just outside of Beijing.
The earth station will be part of a wider development that includes an R&D facility and new headquarters.
SatelliteFinance understands that the financing is expected to take the form of a loan from either an international or Chinese bank.
CMSCG owns the exclusive right to operate mobile satellite services in China and has signed a cooperation agreement with UAE-based MSS operator Thuraya to offer the latter’s satellite services across the country via its Thuraya-3 satellite.
In December 2012, CMSCG announced that the ‘1349’ Thuraya mobile satellite service had been launched to commercial users in China.
The offering is being distributed by China Telecom Satellite, a subsidiary of domestic telecoms giant China Telecom, which signed a partnership agreement with CMSCG in 2011.
Speaking at the time, Jimmy Zhang, chief executive officer of CMSCG commented: Our tie up with CTS will allow us to leverage on their strong distribution channels to proliferate Thuraya’s products and services in the Chinese market and attract customers in sectors such as maritime, oil and gas and disaster relief sectors. We are excited about the prospects in this nascent industry and we are looking to establish our position as a leading service provider of mobile satellite telecommunication services in China.”
A spokesperson from China Telecom added, “The partnership with CMSCG to market Thuraya’s products will strengthen our product portfolio and we are delighted to offer them to our huge customer base of 62.3 million mobile subscribers, a fair portion of which is considered as our target users of this 1349 Thuraya mobile satellite services.”
The companies cited a study from Nielsen Company which estimated that the market demand in China in 2011 for dual mode satellite phones was approximately 320,000 to 410,000 units and the market demand for dual mode satellite phones in 2 to 3 years would be approximately 1,330,000 to 3,840,000 units.
In March 2012, Armarda acquired 45% of CMSCG for approximately US$61m in shares and loan notes. It retains a call option to acquire the remaining 55% when CMSCG’s MSS services are fully launched.
