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China Telecom to Name IPO Underwriter This Week
China Telecommunications (Group) Co., the nation's largest fixed-line operator, will name the underwriter for the initial public offering overseas this week from six candidates, company sources said earlier this week.
China Telecom plans for a dual listing in Hong Kong and New York, with a target to raise US$10-15 billion, making it the largest overseas IPO ever for a Chinese company.
At present Goldman Sachs(Asia), Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, UBS Warburg, China International Capital Corp (CICC) and BOCI Credit Card (International) Ltd. are competing for the deal. The underwriting fee could be as much as US$500 million from the deal.
China Telecom will select at least tow underwriters for the large-scale IPO, according to company sources.
The company is expected to spend the raised money on upgrading technology in areas such as broadband networks, analysts said.
China Telecom officials believe the IPO will help it better compete against China Unicom this year, its main rival in the Chinese market.
China Unicom, a major mobile phone operator which also runs a fixed-line networks in a handful of cities, went public in Hong Kong earlier this year, raising US$5.6 billion early this year.
China Telecom, which dominated telecom market in China until mid-1990s, is still a formidable player, even after its cellular, paging and satellite services have been spun off.
Up to September this year, China had 135 million fixed-line subscribers. China Telecom serves 99 per cent of them.
Source: chinadaily.com.cn
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