Telecoms giant China Mobile International is planning another route to connect terrestrial cables in Central Asia with Hong Kong’s submarine network, aiming to enable more efficient data transmission between the “stan” countries and the rest of the world, a senior executive has said.

Kevin Chan Kin-fan, the company’s head of carrier business, said the developing telecommunications sector in Central Asia presented significant opportunities.

He added that his company was ready to support mainland Chinese firms entering the region by providing technical services.

Chan expressed optimism about the region’s development ahead of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s first official visit to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in early June.

“As a landlocked region, Central Asian countries lack the physical conditions required for direct submarine cable connections. Hong Kong, however, possesses one of the world’s highest densities of submarine cable landing stations and international data exchange centres,” he said.

Chan said China Mobile aimed to leverage this advantage to connect Central Asia’s terrestrial fibre-optic networks to Hong Kong.

A route has already been in service for several years, linking Hong Kong, the mainland, Kazakhstan, Russia and Europe.