VIENTIANE - The Chinese State-owned China Tower, together with the Lao government and local firm Click Lao Marketing and Consultancy, signed an agreement in the Lao capital to jointly establish Southeast Asia Tower company.

The Southeast Asia Tower Company will mainly be engaged in the construction, maintenance and operation of communication towers, base stations, power supplies and other supporting facilities, as well as that of indoor distribution systems and transmission systems in Laos.

According to the agreement inked on Tuesday evening, the shareholding ratio of the three parties is 70 percent, 15 percent, and 15 percent respectively.

The chairman and general manager of Southeast Asia Tower will be appointed by China Tower, the controlling shareholder, which will also lead the operation and management of the joint venture.

Officials from China Tower told Xinhua that the Southeast Asia Tower company is its first overseas investment project, and has received strong support from the Lao government. The joint venture will rely on the experience and capabilities of China Tower in technology, operation management, and industrial chain integration to further explore the synergies between the two markets of China and Laos and improve the communication infrastructure construction and operation level in Laos.

China Tower, established on July 15, 2014, is mainly engaged in construction, maintenance, and operation of base station supporting facilities such as communication towers and large indoor distribution systems.

As of the end of June 2018, the China Tower runs about 1.9 million base stations, ranked as the world's largest provider of communication tower infrastructure services.