Unicom chief to head new telecom carrier

China Unicom Chairman and CEO Chang Xiaobing will be chairman and CEO of the new telecom carrier formed by Unicom’s merger with China Netcom Group Corp (Hong Kong), the Wall Street Journal reported. Wireless network operator Unicom will merge with the fixed-line carrier in a government-mandated industry restructuring announced in May – a move believed to pave the way for the issuance of 3G licenses. China Unicom said it expects the integration of the two companies to be completed within one year of the merger and Chang has previously stated that the company expects the merger deal to be completed at the end of 2008. China Unicom said the merged company will have more than 18,000 sales outlets and 259 million subscribers.