Exclusive: China Telecom's Government and Enterprise Project Bid Abandonment Rates for February Revealed, with 24 Provincial Branches Exceeding 30%

According to exclusive information from informed sources, the bid abandonment rate for CHINA TELECOM's government and enterprise projects in February alone exceeded 45%. Furthermore, 24 of the company's provincial branches reported abandonment rates higher than 30%. This statistic indicates that nearly half of all government and enterprise project bids were abandoned by CHINA TELECOM in February, with a significant number of provincial branches experiencing severe issues.

While the situation shows a slight improvement compared to December 2025, when the bid abandonment rate surpassed 50%, the current environment for telecom operators in the government and enterprise market remains challenging. Revenue growth from this sector is limited across the industry. In the past, intense competition for market share led to frequent price wars, with some project bids priced below cost, severely compressing profit margins.

Simultaneously, accounts receivable from government and enterprise clients have continued to expand. By the end of 2025, the combined accounts receivable balance for the three major telecom operators from this sector reached 219 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of over 30%. Provisions for bad debts surged correspondingly, with China Mobile setting aside 34.4 billion yuan, CHINA TELECOM 9.2 billion yuan, and China Unicom 23.4 billion yuan.

This situation highlights prolonged collection cycles for government and enterprise projects, significant variations in client creditworthiness, and financial pressures on some local governments and corporate clients, leading to prominent payment delays and increased cash flow pressures for the operators. Under these circumstances, winning certain projects can become a burden rather than an opportunity. Projects that are unprofitable and require significant upfront operator investment hold little value, making bid abandonment a more rational choice. This fundamental dynamic explains why bid abandonment rates for telecom operators' government and enterprise projects remain persistently high, as companies increasingly prioritize profitability.