China Telecom plans to invest the extra HK$800m ($103m) it earned from its recent share oversubscription to develop its internet business, according to company chairman Wang Xiaochu.
The recent ban on foreign investment in internet-related businesses in China, coupled with a ban on cable TV operators providing internet services, means China Telecom seems set to keep its monopoly on internet access services even as it faces stiff competition in other areas.
At a press conference in Hong Kong, Wang said China Telecom’s Hong Kong-listed unit, which used most of the proceeds of the international fund-raising exercise to buy three provincial mobile networks from its parent, has had its subscriber base boosted by 60% to 14.5 million users since the end of last year. About 1.4 million were new subscribers to its three existing provincial networks while four million came with the acquisition of Fujian Mobile, Henan Mobile and Hainan Mobile.
