Taiwanese manufacturing giant Hon Hai (Foxconn) is reportedly on the verge of securing an MVNO license in mainland China.
The MIIT plans to issue a fourth batch of licenses soon as part of its large-scale trial of opening the Chinese mobile sector up to MVNOs and Hon Hai will be a recipient, The China Postreported, citing sources.
If accurate, Hon Hai will become the first Taiwanese company to enter the mainland Chinese telecom market.
PC giant Lenovo and fast-growing smartphone vendor Xiaomi are also on the list, according to the report. It adds that Hon Hai/Foxconn cannot own a Chinese MVNO itself under market regulations, so is partnering with a mainland internet company to apply for the license.
This marks Hon Hai's latest foray into the telecom services sector. The company is also entering the Taiwanese mobile market through affiliate Ambit Microsystems.
Ambit recently won regulatory approval to roll out a 4G network in Taiwan, and shareholder approval to merge with Asia-Pacific Telecom.
Hon Hai also recently paid $375 million to secure a 5% stake in SK Group's IT unit, which is effectively an indirect stake in SK Telecom.