菲律宾邀请中国企业进入其电信市场

The Philippines has invited a Chinese group to set up its third major telecoms company, in a move that would end a long-running duopoly in the sector and mark a further diplomatic and commercial pivot by Manila towards Beijing.

菲律宾已邀请一家中国企业在菲设立电信公司，该公司将成为菲律宾第三家大型电信公司，结束该国电信业长期的双头垄断局面，并标志着马尼拉在外交和商业方面进一步转向北京。

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte made the offer last week to Chinese Premier Li Keqiang as the two men presided over the signing of more than a dozen bilateral agreements between the two countries, Mr Duterte’s spokesman Harry Roque said on Monday.

菲律宾总统罗德里戈•杜特尔特(Rodrigo Duterte)的发言人哈里•洛克(Harry Roque)周一表示，杜特尔特是在上周与中国总理李克强主持签署十多份双边协议的时候提出上述邀约的。

“During the bilateral talks between President Duterte and the Chinese premier, President Duterte offered to the People’s Republic of China the privilege to operate the third telecoms carrier in the country,” Mr Roque said.

洛克表示：“在杜特尔特总统与李克强总理的双边会谈期间，杜特尔特向中华人民共和国提供了在菲运营第三家电信运营商的特权。”

The offer to China was made, Mr Roque said, on the same day that the Philippine government signed a deal with a subsidiary of Facebook to build an ultra high-speed broadband backbone on Luzon, the country’s most populous island, where its capital and largest city Manila is located.

洛克说，在向中国发出邀约的同一天，菲律宾政府与Facebook子公司签署了在吕宋岛建设超高速宽带主干网的协议。吕宋岛是菲律宾人口最多的岛屿，该最大城市、首都马尼拉就位于该岛。

The project, called the Luzon Bypass of the Pacific Light Cable Network, will provide bandwidth of two terabytes per second, Mr Roque said — equivalent to the kind of capacity offered by the Philippines’ two operators today. The project is due to come online in 2019.

洛克表示，“太平洋光纤电缆网络吕宋岛支路”项目将提供每秒2太字节(TB)的带宽——相当于目前菲律宾两家运营商提供的带宽之和。预计该项目将于2019年上线。

Filipinos have long complained about slow and expensive phone and internet services, which are seen as obstacles to business in an economy with a large “offshoring” sector, which grew at an annual rate of 6.9 per cent in the most recent quarter — one of the fastest in Asia.

长期以来，菲律宾人一直抱怨手机和互联网速度慢且昂贵，这在一个拥有庞大“离岸”行业的经济体中被视为企业的障碍。菲律宾在最近一个季度里的年化经济增长率为6.9%，是亚洲增速最快的经济体之一。

Mr Roque said, in remarks quoted by the Rappler news website, that the Philippine government was waiting for Chinese telecoms companies to submit their proposals, and that the government would take 45 days to determine whether to accept them.

据Rappler新闻网站引述，洛克表示，菲律宾政府正等待中国的电信企业提交建议书，而菲政府会在45天内决定是否接受。

“This is the latest instance of the president proving he has the political will to do what is necessary to benefit the Filipino people,” Mr Roque said. “The telecoms duopoly is about to end.”

洛克表示：“这是总统证明自己有政治意愿采取必要措施让菲律宾人民受惠的最新例子。电信双头垄断即将画上句号。”

The Philippines’ two big telecoms providers are PLDT-Smart, controlled by former monopolist PLDT, and Globe Telecom, whose main shareholders are the Philippine group Ayala and Singapore’s Singtel.

目前菲律宾有两大电信供应商，一家是由前垄断集团菲律宾长途电话公司(PLDT)控制的PLDT-Smart，另一家是Globe Telecom，其主要股东是菲律宾的阿亚拉集团(Ayala)和新加坡电信(Singtel)。

A provision of the country’s constitution caps foreign ownership of companies in sectors deemed strategic, but Mr Duterte’s government is considering amending it to open the way to more foreign investment.

菲律宾宪法规定了外国公司在被视为战略性行业的企业中的最高持股比例，但杜特尔特政府正在考虑对其进行修改，从而为吸引更多外国投资铺平道路。

China’s biggest foray until now into the Philippines’ telecoms sector was a broadband deal involving Chinese company ZTE, which prompted a scandal that engulfed the administration of then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who cancelled it in 2007 after the alleged irregularities surfaced.

中国迄今进入菲律宾电信行业的最大尝试是一项涉及中国公司中兴通讯(ZTE)的宽带交易，该交易引发了一桩丑闻，严重影响到了当时的总统洛丽亚•马卡帕加尔•阿罗约(Gloria Macapagal Arroyo)的政府。该交易在被曝出违规后，于2007年被阿罗约政府取消。

Mr Duterte, a populist in the mould of Donald Trump, has seen his popularity slip since his election last July, but he still enjoys the support of about two-thirds of Filipinos.

与唐纳德•特朗普(Donald Trump)如出一辙的民粹主义者杜特尔特去年7月当选为总统，如今他的支持率下降，但仍有大约三分之二的菲律宾人支持他。

In a bid to tilt the Philippines away from its traditional reliance on the US, the country’s former coloniser and main ally, Mr Duterte has been actively courting closer ties with China, Russia and Japan.

为了使菲律宾减少传统上对美国的依赖，杜特尔特一直在积极地与中国、俄罗斯和日本建立更密切的关系。美国曾经殖民过菲律宾，也是其主要盟友。

Last week’s 14 commercial agreements signed by the Philippine and Chinese leaders included pacts on technical co-operation, infrastructure and Chinese underwriting for renminbi-denominated bonds. The two countries agreed to move ahead with a debut $200m “Panda bond”.

上周，菲律宾和中国领导人签署了14项商业协议，其中包括关于技术合作、基础设施和中方承销人民币计价债券的协定。两国同意推进首次发行2亿美元“熊猫债券”的工作。

Separately, the Philippine government signed nine bilateral agreements with Russia on November 14, at the tail-end of last week’s summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

另外，11月14日，在上周东盟(ASEAN)峰会临近结束时，菲律宾政府与俄罗斯签署了9项双边协定。