PCCW Ltd, Hong Kong's biggest phone company, has shelved a plan to sell up to 45 percent of its main unit, saying the "market downturn" was to blame for low bids.

Offers for the stake in HKT Group Holdings "were not sufficiently attractive," PCCW said in a statement yesterday. Directors unanimously agreed to cancel the proposed sale.

PCCW joins Chinese mainland's Huawei Technologies and Ping An Insurance in canceling transactions as the financial crisis weighs on equity values and pushes up borrowing costs.

PCCW was seeking US$1 billion to US$1.5 billion from the sale, according to Kelvin Ho, an analyst at Nomura International in Hong Kong.

"It's getting more difficult for buyers to get funding in the current market conditions," Ho said before the announcement.

PCCW shares tumbled 9.7 percent to HK$2.80 (36 US cents) on Friday, extending their decline to 40 percent this year, compared with a 47 percent loss for the Hang Seng Index, Bloomberg News said.

TPG Inc, Providence Equity Partners, Macquarie Group, Apax Partners, Bain Capital LLC and MBK Partners were all shortlisted to bid for the stake in HKT.