Taipei - Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom Co and Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel) will jointly launch a second joint communications satellite in 2010, Chunghwa Telecom said on Thursday.

The two firms have agreed to form a joint venture to build the ST- 2 satellite and launch it in the fourth quarter of 2010. ST-2 will replace the ST-1, Chunghwa Telecom said in a statement.

Chunghwa Telecom Singapore, a wholly-owned unit of Chunghwa Telecom, will inject 1.35 billion Taiwan dollars (44 million US) in the joint venture for about 38-per-cent ownership. SingTel will own the remaining 62 per cent.

The ST-1 satellite, launched in 1998 and also co-owned by Telecom and SingTel, is due for replacement in 2011. The two firms agreed to cooperate again to build the ST-2 satellite to continue servicing existing customers and to facilitate expansion into international telecommunications markets, the statement said.

ST-2, which will be located at the same longitude of 88 degrees east as ST-1, has a planned life cycle of 15 years compared to ST-1's 12 years. ST-2 has higher transmitting power than ST-1, with expanded service coverage to include Asia, India and the Middle East.

Leng Tai-feng, executive vice president of Chunghwa Telecom, said: "The expanded capacity and coverage of ST-2, in addition to the multi-route wide-band submarine cables owned and operated by Chunghwa Telecom, will further solidify Chunghwa Telecom's leading market position."

Chunghwa Telecom is the leading telecommunications service provider in Taiwan. It provides fixed line services, mobile services and Internet and data services to residential and business customers in Taiwan. (dpa)