Yet the company's diversification went even further. In 1989, CP joined with Solvay of Belgium to launch
Vinythai Co., a manufacturer of polyvinylchloride. The following year, the company made an even bolder
move, forming a partnership with the U.S. telecommunications firm of NYNEX (later Verizon) to launch
TelecomAsia (TA) in a move to compete against the government's former telephone monopoly in Bangkok
market. In 1993, TA went public on the Bangkok Stock Exchange and began construction of its own fiberoptic
telephone network, which reached 2.6 million lines at the end of the decade