In-House Legal Counsel and Enterprise Risk Management

Zhang Jianbin, Head of Legal Department, China Telecom Corporation Limited

No investment can be effective in the long term without proper risk management, and the outcomes of inadequate risk management turned out to be expensive. So from a certain perspective the duty of the in-house counsels is to work on risk management together with other function sectors. Currently the Chinese telecommunications operators have begun reengineering their risk management systems for the sake of healthy growth in the process of transition following the evolution of technology and cutomer demands. Meanwhile, the trend of the global regulatory system placing higher requirements on the corporate governance and risk management also accounts for the operators’ efforts on the risk management. In this process, in-house counsels have played an important role. In this paper, the author trys to give a whole picture of current Chinese telecommunications industry, including the market, competition and regulation, upon which the author trys to show the readers a snapshot of the risk management in Chinese telecommunications operators. Further, the author will also discuss several key issues for the purpose of incorporating risk management into day to day work of the in-house counsels.

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China Management Telecommunications November 2009 Vol. 3, No. 9, Autumn 2009

Zhang Jianbin

Mr. Zhang Jianbin, is head of legal department of China Telecom Corporation Limited. He joined in China Telecom in 1998, and before that he worked in the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications of People’s Republic of China. He has nearly twenty years of experiences in telecommunications industry, and concurrently serves as an arbitrator of China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (the “CIETAC”), and a councilor of China Intellectual Property Society (the “CIPS”). He also worked in a panel of experts during the revision process of the Chinese Company Law. Mr. Zhang holds bachelor of law degree, master of law degree, and EMBA degree of Peking University, China.

China Telecom Corporation Limited

China Telecom Corporation Limited is a full services integrated operator and the world's largest wireline telecommunications and broadband services provider, providing telecommunications and information services including wireline voice, mobile voice, data, video and multimedia in the PRC. As of the end of 2008, the Company has wireline access lines in service of 208 million, broadband subscribers of over 44 million and mobile subscribers of about 28 million. The Company's H shares and American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") are listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited and the New York Stock Exchange, respectively.

China Management Telecommunications November 2009 Vol. 3, No. 9, Autumn 2009