South Korea’s SK Telecom and China Unicom agreed to cooperate to strengthen their competitiveness across diverse areas such as 5G technology, international roaming and startup support.

SK Telecom president and CEO Jang Dong-hyun (pictured, left) and China Unicom president and vice chairman Lu Yimin signed the agreement in Cape Town last week, where the GSMA board held a meeting.

The two companies said they plan to share information and conduct joint studies to promote standardisation and commercialisation of 5G. They will also work together to build a startup ecosystem and to launch competitive roaming services, with the goal of making roaming more convenient and affordable for tourists. According to the Korea Tourism Organisation, last year 6.13 million Chinese visited Korea and 4.18 million Koreans visited China.

To support tech startups, the companies said they will create a cooperative venture incubator programme covering the entire startup process, from the search for venture firms to market introduction.

They will also collaborate in the search for new growth businesses, with SK Telecom expecting to have the opportunity to introduce its next-generation platforms to the Chinese market.