China Netcom Group Corp (Hong Kong) Ltd, the nation's second-largest fixed-line telephone operator, plans to sell yuan-denominated shares on the mainland, where the benchmark stock index more than doubled last year.
The company hasn't set a timetable for the sale, Chairman Zhang Chunjiang said yesterday in Beijing, where he is attending the National People's Congress. China Netcom, in which Spain's Telefonica SA owns a stake, also wants to attract more foreign shareholders, Zhang said, declining to give further details.
A domestic share sale may help China Netcom raise funds to buy mobile-phone networks in the expected government reorganization of the country's telecommunications industry, said Bloomberg News. China is preparing to issue licenses to provide high-speed wireless-phone services and might revamp the state-owned phone companies, including selling off one of mobile operator China Unicom Ltd's networks, to increase competition.
"China Netcom would likely use the money to establish its mobile-phone business," said Steven Liu, an analyst at DBS Vickers Ltd in Hong Kong, who rates China Netcom "buy."
Zhang said the company hasn't received any notification from regulators regarding a possible industry reorganization.
"We are keen to return to list on the mainland as our main customers are in China and we hope our investors and users can share in the growth of the company," Zhang said. "Structural" problems such as rules and regulations are currently blocking a listing, he said. | |