Nortel Networks continued to secure new business in mainland China on Tuesday with a US$40 million wireless contract, but the news was overshadowed by the sorry state of the company's stock price.
Nortel will perform network upgrades for China Unicom in the autonomous regions of Xinjiang Uygur and Ningxia Hui, the province of Shanxi, and the municipality of Chongqing.
China Unicom is upgrading its wireless networks to meet growing demand and handle up to 925,000 subscribers.
Meanwhile, Nortel's stock fell as low as 98 cents in early trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Throughout the rest of the day it held steady around $1.02. Monday's closing price of $1.05 was a 21-year low.
Hanging over the telecom sector is Monday's revenue warning from optical equipment maker JDS Uniphase, as well as a host of other warnings and job cut announcements from other players in the industry last week. Sabre-rattling by the U.S. against Iraq, as well as broad-based concerns about earnings in the third quarter, have also wieghed on the markets.
The new low leaves Nortel Networks worth about 0.8 per cent of its peak in the summer of 2000 when it hit $124. In that legendary time Nortel accounted for more than a third of the value of all companies listed on what was then known as the TSE 300.
On Wall Street Nortel has been trading under US$1 for weeks.
Nortel will perform network upgrades for China Unicom in the autonomous regions of Xinjiang Uygur and Ningxia Hui, the province of Shanxi, and the municipality of Chongqing.
China Unicom is upgrading its wireless networks to meet growing demand and handle up to 925,000 subscribers.
Meanwhile, Nortel's stock fell as low as 98 cents in early trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Throughout the rest of the day it held steady around $1.02. Monday's closing price of $1.05 was a 21-year low.
Hanging over the telecom sector is Monday's revenue warning from optical equipment maker JDS Uniphase, as well as a host of other warnings and job cut announcements from other players in the industry last week. Sabre-rattling by the U.S. against Iraq, as well as broad-based concerns about earnings in the third quarter, have also wieghed on the markets.
The new low leaves Nortel Networks worth about 0.8 per cent of its peak in the summer of 2000 when it hit $124. In that legendary time Nortel accounted for more than a third of the value of all companies listed on what was then known as the TSE 300.
On Wall Street Nortel has been trading under US$1 for weeks.
