Vodafone Group Plc, the world's biggest mobile phone firm by revenue, does not intend to sell its stake in Hong Kong-listed China Mobile Ltd, company executives said.
Rumors were circulating that Vodafone may sell its China Mobile shares to finance a buyout of Hutchison Essar Ltd, India's fourth-largest mobile phone operator. But Vodafone Chairman John Bond said the firm had "never sold a single China Mobile share", suggesting it would continue holding its 3.27-percent stake in the Chinese operator. Vodafone in 2000 and 2002 invested in China Mobile Ltd separately with a total of $3.25 billion, holding a 3.27-percent stake and a board seat.
Last week Vodafone reached an agreement with India's Essar Group on an $11.1-billion purchase of a 67-percent stake in Hutchison Essar Ltd. Prior to that, rumors had been rife that Vodafone was considering selling its China Mobile shares to raise funds for the buyout. Speculation hit the Hang Seng Index last month. China Mobile shares have more than doubled in the past year, increasing its market capitalization to nearly $200 billion and making it the most valuable cellular carrier in the world.
If Vodafone sells the 3.27-percent stake, it could profit more than HK$20 billion, based on the current share price. Vodafone owned over 2 percent of China Mobile as of last September. But Howard Xia, general manager of Vodafone China Ltd, said Vodafone had not reduced its stake. Xia oversees the $3.25-billion investment in China Mobile and a $35-million investment in ASPire Group, a joint venture formed by China Mobile, Vodafone, Merrill Lynch and Hewlett Packard.
Vodafone holds a 9.99-percent stake and two board seats in ASPire, a wireless data service provider that oversees the billing system of China Mobile's wireless data service brand Monternet. Bond last week met China Mobile Chairman Wang Jianzhou in the hope of enhancing cooperation.
Wang Guoping, an analyst at China Galaxy Securities, said it was unlikely Vodafone would reduce its stake in China Mobile. Now the top priorities for Vodafone are cutting costs in Europe while recording robust growth in emerging markets. There is increasing likelihood that China Mobile may be mandated to run 3G (third-generation) cellular networks based on TD-SCDMA, China's home-grown standard for 3G mobile telephony.
Source:佚名