S'pore IDA offers incentives

S'pore IDA offers incentives

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): The Infocomm Development Authority of
Singapore is offering tax and other incentives to attract foreign
telecommunication companies to invest in the country's upcoming
auction of third generation, or 3G, telecommunication network
licenses, the Straits Times reported Saturday.

However, the IDA won't grant foreign players open access to
existing mobile phone networks, it added.

The newspaper quoted IDA spokesperson Dulcie Chan as saying
that a variety of incentives, including tax incentives, are being
offered to prospective investors.

Chan said, however, that the IDA doesn't plan to grant foreign
players open access to existing second generation, or 2G, mobile
phone networks.

Citing unnamed sources, the report said that mandatory open
access to existing 2G networks figures at the top of foreign
telecommunication companies' wish lists as it would help them
save huge sums of money by way of costs of rolling out 3G
networks.