China Unicom Surges on Hong Kong DebutChina Unicom shares made a strong debut in Hong Kong, rising more than ten percent as investors rushed to grab a slice of the mainland's fast-growing telecommunication markets, dealers said.China Unicom shares rose to 17.00 Hong Kong dollars (2.18 US) in early trade, against an issue price of 15.42 dollars for institutional buyers. The surge followed a sharp rise in the company's American depositary shares (ADS) overnight in New York. China Unicom, China's second largest telecommunications operator raised US$4.92 billion in its initial public offering (IPO) and international placement. Both the 2.3 billion shares for the international placement and the 123 million shares in the Hong Kong IPO were three times oversubscribed. China Unicom plans to use the proceeds of the IPO to expand the capacity and coverage of its mobile telephone network, expand its fibre optic transmission network, its data network and its Internet business. The flotation is part of Beijing's attempts to turn China Unicom into a serious rival for dominant China Mobile, the recently renamed parent of China Telecom (HK). China Telecom was down 50 cents at 66.75 dollars in early trade here Thursday. |
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