EXHIBIT 10.14
SUPPORT SERVICES AGREEMENT
BY AND BETWEEN
CHINA NETCOM (GROUP) COMPANY LIMITED
AND
CHINA NETWORK COMMUNICATIONS GROUP CORPORATION
SUPPORT SERVICES AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT is made and entered on [-], 2004 in Beijing, People's
Republic of China ("PRC") by and between the following two parties (hereinafter
referred to as "both parties" or "Party A and Party B"):
Party A: China Netcom (Group) Company Limited
Address: Xxxxxxxx X, Xx.000, Xxxxxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxx
Xxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxx, PRC
Legal representative: Zhang Xxxx Xxxxx
Party B: China Network Communications Group Corporation
Address: Xx.000, Xxxxxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx,
Xxxxxxx, PRC
Legal representative: Zhang Xxxx Xxxxx
Based on fair and reasonable basis, following cooperative negotiation,
regarding the support services provided by Party B (including branches,
subsidiaries, and other controlled units) to Party A (including branches,
subsidiaries, and other controlled units), it is hereby agreed by and between
both parties hereto as follows:
1. BASIC PRINCIPLES
1.1 For the support services provided by Party B to Party A under this
Agreement, Party B reserves the right to charge reasonable service fees
under the terms of this Agreement. Party A shall make the payment for the
services rendered.
1.2 The terms of support services offered by Party B under this Agreement
shall not be worse than any other third party offering the same or similar
services.
1.3 If Party B fails to provide or fully provide the agreed support services
due to reasons other than its own fault, Party B shall promptly inform
Party A in writing, and shall use its best endeavors to assist Party A to
find the same or similar services through other means.
1.4 The agreed support services provided by Party B to Party A shall fully
comply with the purposes agreed upon under this Agreement and the standard
set by the State.
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1.5 In the event of any breach of provision by either party under this
Agreement that leads to any damage suffered by the other party, the party
in breach shall be liable for all immediate and full damages for breaching
this Agreement.
1.6 Both parties shall provide all reasonable and essential assistance to the
other party for the purpose of fulfilling the obligations set out in this
Agreement.
2. BASIC CONTENTS OF THE SUPPORT SERVICES
2.1 The support services provided by Party B to Party A includes:
Catering services, equipment hiring services, vehicles services, medical
care, labor and manpower services, safety and security, hotel services,
conferencing services, gardening (forestation), decoration and renovation,
sale of commodities, contracting of infrastructure development,
maintenance of equipment, marketing development, technical support,
research and development, cleaning services, car parking services, staff
training, storage and warehousing (such as storing the relevant
telecommunications equipment, including parts and electric circuits),
advertisements (such as production and publishing the advertisements of
Party A at the media of Party B) and promotion / printing, property
management, etc.
3. PRICING PRINCIPLE
3.1 The pricing or charging standard under this Agreement shall be governed by
the principle in this provision and in the following order: those that are
fixed by the State shall follow the government-fixed price; those that
have the government guidance price shall follow the said guidance price;
those that have no fixed price nor government guidance price yet have a
market price shall follow the market price; those that none of the above
said is applicable shall follow the pricing method agreed upon by both
parties, however, the said pricing method shall be calculated with regard
to the reasonable cost and reasonable profit of the service, whereby
"reasonable cost" means the cost agreed by both parties.
The "State Rate" follows the Pricing Law of the People's Republic of
China, which is set by the governmental pricing department or other
related departments based on the pricing limits and range.
The "government guidance price" follows the Pricing Law of the People's
Republic of China, which provides guidance to business operators by the
governmental pricing department or other related departments based on the
pricing limits, basic price range and its floating range.
The "Market Rate" means the rate determined by the business operator and
attained through market competition. The market price shall be determined
by the following order: (1) the rate charged by any independent third
party providing the same kind of service in the same or surrounding area
under normal situation; or (2) the rate charged by any independent third
party providing the same kind of service within China under normal
situation.
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3.2 The specific amount of service charge agreed upon under this Agreement
shall from time to time be calculated by the accounting principle
applicable in China (if applicable).
3.3 Both parties shall, before December 31 of every calendar year, conduct a
review on the price of every item of service and facility stated in this
Agreement for the next accounting year (if necessary).
3.4 It is expected that from time to time, both parties will execute specific
documents relating to the service provided whenever necessary; those
specific executing documents should state the specific services required
by Party B, and state all the principles, standards and provisions, and
terms that are legally binding under this Agreement.
4. PAYMENT OF SERVICE CHARGE
4.1 Party A shall, based on the provisions of this Agreement, any
supplementary agreement of this Agreement (if any), and in specific
execution documents, pay Party B or its trustee service charge in
consideration for the services provided by Party B or its trustee.
4.2 If Party A fails to pay on time the said service charge agreed upon under
the provisions of this Agreement, any supplementary agreement of this
Agreement (if any), and the specific execution documents, Party A shall,
for each 1 day (calendar day, and the same applies below) late, pay a late
charge penalty of 0.05% of the outstanding balance to Party B; and after
60 days of late payment, Party B is entitled to notify Party A the
termination of service; if Party A still fails to pay for the outstanding
balance upon 30 days after receiving the written notice to terminate
service, Party B shall be entitled to terminate the service immediately.
The suspension or termination of such service shall not in any way
prejudice or affect the rights and obligations under this Agreement prior
to such event.
5. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF BOTH PARTIES
5.1 Rights and Obligations of Party A
5.1.1 Rights of Party A
(1) Party A (including its subsidiaries, branches and controlled units)
has the right to receive the agreed service provided by Party B;
(2) The auditor of Party A has the right to inspect and examine the
accounting books of Party B and its connected persons in relation to
the connected transactions under this Agreement.
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5.1.2 Obligations of Party A
(1) Guarantee and/or procure its subsidiaries, branches and all other
controlled units to enter into specific execution documents with
Party B and its subsidiaries, branches or controlled units in
relation to this Agreement and/or any supplementary agreement of
this Agreement (if any);
(2) Coordinate with all relating matters with regard to the
abovementioned specific execution documents;
(3) Pay the service charge as stated in this Agreement and all other
specific execution documents;
(4) Guarantee to pay for any damage suffered by Party B or counter party
of specific execution documents that is caused by the breach of
Party A of any provisions in this Agreement and specific execution
documents.
5.2 Rights and Obligations of Party B
5.2.1 Rights of Party B
(1) Party B is entitled to the service charge agreed upon under this
Agreement;
(2) Right to provide the same or similar service to a third party, on
the condition that Party B continues to provide to Party A the same
service agreed upon under this Agreement.
5.2.2 Obligations of Party B
(1) Guarantee and/or prompt its subsidiaries, branches and all other
controlled units to enter into specific execution documents with
Party A and its subsidiaries, branches or its other controlled units
in relation to this Agreement and/or any supplementary agreement of
this Agreement (if any);
(2) Provide the services and monitor the services provided by its
subsidiaries, branches and other controlled units at a good quality
according to the provisions of this Agreement;
(3) Coordinate with all relating matters with regard to the
abovementioned specific execution documents;
(4) Guarantee to pay for any damage suffered by Party A or counter party
of specific execution documents that is caused by the breach of
Party B of any provisions in this Agreement and all other specific
execution documents;
(5) Agree to provide the auditor of Party A the accounting books of
Party B and its connected
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persons in relation to the connections transactions under this
Agreement.
5.3 It is agreed that both parties will take further actions to ensure the
realization of the principles and provisions in this Agreement. It is
further agreed that both parties will ensure that, Party A, being a
subsidiary of a company to be listed or listed, China Netcom Group (Hong
Kong) Limited (hereinafter "Listing Company"), shall comply with the
Listing Rules of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for connected transactions.
6. PREFERENTIAL RIGHT
6.1 For the same service, if an independent third party cannot offer better
conditions and terms than Party B, Party A can grant Party B preferential
right.
6.2 Party B undertakes to Party B that Party B shall not offer the same or
similar services stated under this Agreement to a third party at terms
more favorable than those offered to Party A.
6.3 Party B has the right to provide the same or similar service to a third
party, on the condition that Party B continues to provide the same service
agreed upon under this Agreement.
7. TERM
7.1 This Agreement shall come into effect once signed by the legal
representatives or authorized representatives of both Parties and affixed
with their official seals. This Agreement shall be effective till June 30,
2007. If Party A wishes to renew this Agreement and notifies Party B with
3 month's notice, this Agreement shall be renewed automatically for
another 3 years on the same terms. There are no limits on the number of
renewal.
8. REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES AND UNDERTAKINGS
Each party represents, warrants and undertakes to the other party that:
(1) It is an independent legal person existing in accordance with the
laws of PRC, and have the power and authority (including but not
limited to any approval, consents or permission granted by the
government departments to enter into and perform this Agreement);
(2) No provision in this Agreement violates the constitutive documents
or the laws and regulations of China;
(3) It will use its best endeavors to take all necessary and procure
appropriate or advantageous measures to perform this Agreement and
to make this Agreement effective in accordance with the law and
regulations of China and this Agreement.
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9. FORCE MAJEURE
9.1 In the event of Force Majeure that causes both Parties or either Party to
fail completely or partially in performing the obligations under this
Agreement, that said Party is not liable for breach of agreement. However,
in the event of such an incident, the affected party shall inform the
other party by written notice within 15 days after the said incident and
provide relevant proof and evidence to the other Party. At the same time,
the affected party shall use its best endeavors to minimize the damage
caused by the Force Majeure event. The affected Party or both Parties
shall resume its obligations under this Agreement once the Force Majeure
event has ended within a reasonable time.
9.2 Force Majeure in this Agreement means all objective situations that are
unforeseeable, unavoidable and that cannot be overcome.
10. CONFIDENTIALITY
10.1 Unless with written approval by the other party, neither party can
announce nor supply or reveal to any third party any information regarding
this Agreement or the business information of the other party, with the
exception of requests by the legal or governmental departments or any
other relevant securities regulatory authorities or for the purpose of the
Listing Company seeking listing (and remain as one).
11. TRANSFER OF RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS
11.1 Without the written approval of the other party, neither party may
transfer any single right and obligation as agreed upon under this
Agreement.
12. NON-WAIVER
12.1 Unless otherwise specified by law, the failure or delay of exercising the
right, power or privilege as endowed by this Agreement on the part of any
Party cannot be deemed as the waiver of such rights, power or privileges.
Besides, the partial exercise of such rights, power or privileges should
not hinder the exercise of such rights, power or privileges of this Party
in the future.
13. NOTICE
13.1 All notices required to be delivered pursuant to this Agreement shall be
in writing and in Chinese, and delivered to the address as stated at the
beginning part of this Agreement, or to addresses or facsimile numbers
designated by one Party to the other Parties in writing from time to
time.this Agreement.
13.2 Any notice above shall be delivered either by hand, registered mail, or
facsimile. Any notice shall be deemed to have been delivered at the time
of actual receipt if delivered by hand; three days after the date of
return receipt if delivered by registered mail; and at the time of
transmission if delivered by facsimile.
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14. DISPUTE RESOLUTION
14.1 In case of disputes as to the power, interpretation or implementation of
this Agreement, both parties shall seek to settle the matters of dispute
by friendly negotiation. If the matters of dispute cannot be settled by
negotiation within thirty (30) days from the day the matters of dispute
arise, either party has the right to resort to litigation at the people's
court which has jurisdiction over where Party A situates.
15. MISCELLANEOUS
15.1 Without written confirmation from both parties, no party can change or
amend this Agreement. Upon the agreement of both parties, both parties can
amend this Agreement or enter into supplementary agreement to this
Agreement. The amendments or supplementary agreements of this Agreement
shall come into effect once signed by the legal representatives or
authorized representatives of both Parties and affixed with their official
seals.
15.2 This Agreement is severable, that is, if any provision of this Agreement
is held to be void, illegal, void or unenforceable at any time, the
effectiveness and performance of other provisions of this Agreement shall
not be affected.
15.3 This Agreement shall be governed and interpreted in accordance with the
laws of PRC.
15.4 This Agreement is made into four (4) duplicate originals. Each party holds
two (2) copies, and each copy shall have the same legal binding effect.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the legal representatives or authorized
representatives of the both Parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of
the date and venue first written above.
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Signature Page
PARTY A: CHINA NETCOM (GROUP) COMPANY LIMITED (SEAL)
By :______________
Legal representative or Authorized representative_
PARTY B: CHINA NETWORK COMMUNICATIONS GROUP CORPORATION (SEAL)
By :______________
Legal representative or Authorized representative
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