BEIJING, Nov. 15 -- ZTE Corp., China's second-biggest telecom equipment maker, said Monday nine major shareholders had proposed to offer 2.3 nontradable shares for every 10 A-shares held by domestic shareholders as part of a State-share reform plan.

    ZTE said the shareholders, which hold 497.32 million nontradable shares, or 51.83 percent of the company's registered share capital, did not have any plans to provide similar compensation to holders of overseas-listed H shares.

    It gave no dollar value for the deal.

    The government in April revived its controversial program to float US$250 billion of nontradable State holdings in listed firms, aimed at making firms more transparent and financing the pension system. Its bungled first attempt in 2001 sparked a 30 percent drop in China's stock markets.

    The company said trading in the domestic investor only A-shares in Shenzhen are suspended Monday and the stock will resume trade Nov. 24.

    ZTE also announced yesterday that it had won a US$66 million bid to modernize Vietnam's northern railway transceiver systems.

    ZTE said it had signed a contract with Vietname Railways Corp. in Hanoi to help modernize signaling and telecommunications systems for three railway routes in Vietnam, including Hanoi-Lao Cai, Hanoi-Dong Dang, and Hanoi-Thai Nguyen lines.

    In March, ZTE had said it would install Vietnam's most advanced CDMA communications network for Vietnam Power Telecom, covering 13 provinces in the country including Hi Chin Minh City and the Mekong Delta.

    According to the contract signed between ZTE and VNR, ZTE is to supply switching, transmission, access network and digital scheduling products to build a modern railway communication system for Vietnam's VNR. The turnkey project, which will be completed in four years, is expected to greatly improve the informationization level of VNR's railways and boost Vietnam's economic and tourist developments.

    ZTE was picked from a group of bidders due to its customer-oriented solutions and services, said a ZTE spokesman yesterday.

    "ZTE has more than 10 years' experiences in providing railway communication solutions. Our optical access network and videoconferencing products command the largest portion of China's railway communication market. These experiences have attracted VNR," the spokesman said.

    ZTE kicked off marketing activities in Vietnam in 2000 and started making feasibility studies for VNR in 2001. Earlier this year, ZTE reached a deal with Vietnam Power Telecom, Vietnam's second-largest telecom operator, to construct a 450MHz CDMA2000 network in Vietnam, which will be the first third-generation CDMA2000 network in the country.

    (Source: Shenzhen Daily/Agencies)