(Hong Kong, 07 September 2011) China Unicom and CITIC Group signed a strategic collaboration agreement in Beijing on 31 August 2011 attended by Mr. Chang Zhenming, Chairman of CITIC Group; Mr. Tian Guoli, President of CITIC Group; Mr. Chang Xiaobing, Chairman of China Unicom; Mr. Lu Yimin, President of China Unicom. Mr. Xin Yue Jiang, Chairman of CITIC Telecom International Holdings Limited and Mr. Norman Yuen, CEO of CITIC Telecom International Holdings Limited were also present at the signing ceremony. Mr. Ju Weimin, Vice President of CITIC Group and Mr. Jiang Zhengxin, Vice President of China Unicom signed the strategic cooperative agreement on behalf of their respective organisation. Mr. Chang Zhenming, Chairman of CITIC Group and Mr. Chang Xiaobing, Chairman of China Unicom said both companies would expand the scope and aspects of their cooperation to build a mutually beneficial relationship. According to the agreement, both parties will establish long-term strategic cooperation to fully explore and leverage the resources in their respective areas of expertise so as to strengthen collaboration in the areas of telecommunication service, financing, and sharing of customer bases and channel resources. Through this strategic alliance, CITIC Group and China Unicom will join hands to develop both the domestic and international markets aimed at creating a win-win situation. China Unicom is to help CITIC Group to speed up the construction of its information infrastructure with a view to strengthening the core competitiveness of group. CITIC Group for its part will use its integrated financial platform and build a professional team to provide solid support to China Unicom in aspects such as corporate financing and risk aversion. The two parties will commence cooperation in various aspects and build closer collaboration in the telecommunication market in Hong Kong, Macau and the international markets for international voice and SMS services, international private leased circuit (IPLC) and international virtual private network (VPN) services, internet related services such as internet data centres and cloud computing, international mobile voice and data roaming services, and mobile roaming value-added services. This strategic cooperative relationship between CITIC Group and China Unicom is significant in improving the applications standard of information communications and enhancing the core competitiveness of CITIC Telecom International Holdings Limited.