Many people are familiar with PCCW as an internet service provider or fixed phone line operator, but the company's services reach far beyond that. With its headquarters in Hong Kong, PCCW has 16,200 employees all over the world from Europe to Africa and offers many kinds of what are called integrated communication services.

The man behind the push for privatisation is Richard Li Tzar-kai, PCCW chairman and youngest son of Li-Ka shing, one of Asia's richest billionaires. He - along with the other largest shareholder, China Unicom - wants to buy the other shareholders out at HK$4.50 a share - down from a high of HK$131 during the dot-com bubble of 2000.

Post chief business reporter Enoch Yiu explains that for PCCW, or any publicly owned company, to delist from the stockmarket, it must meet two major requirements - at least 75 per cent of shareholders support privatisation, and more than 50 per cent of the shareholders physically present at the shareholders meeting must be in favour of the deal.

No matter how powerful anyone in the company is or how many shares they hold, everyone at the shareholders meeting is limited to a single vote. 'It's a headcount rule,' says Yiu, who explains the rule was created to ensure a level playing field for everyone invested in the company.

At the February shareholders meeting, more than 1,400 shareholders voted in favour of the deal, with around 800 against. Unfortunately, in January Inneo Lam Hau-wah, regional executive director of Fortis Asia, bought 500,000 PCCW shares and gave them out to 500 of his agents, who then went to the meeting and supported the deal. What Mr Lam did is called share-splitting, and it is not illegal in Hong Kong. But the presence of the agents at the shareholders meeting raises the problem of vote rigging, and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) stepped in to investigate.

The SFC is Hong Kong's securities and futures market regulator - a watchdog that makes sure market transactions, such as the privatisation of PCCW, are fair to all shareholders, and on Thursday it decided it thought this deal was not. The SFC urged the High Court to block PCCW's privatisation plan so as to protect the interests of minority shareholders.

Susan Kwan, the judge presiding over the case, said she would give her decision today. If she rules against the deal, it will be the third time an attempt to privatise PCCW has been scuppered - the first time reportedly by Beijing, the second by minority shareholders. This is the first in a two-part series. Look out for the second part tomorrow.

A look at PCCW

Business: Integrated communications

Overview: PCCW is the leading internet service provider in Hong Kong. Its Netvigator service has more than 1 million retail and business customers, giving it the largest share in the broadband market. Its website claims it has laid enough optical fibres around the city to circle the Earth 26 times. It also has more than 5,000 Wi-fi hotspots around Hong Kong, including shopping malls, food courts and universities.

Staff (globally): Approximately 16,200

Key services: Fixed-line, IPTV, mobile, internet provision, ICT solutions, internet data centres, contact centres, global communications, infrastructure

Countries in operation: Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, Japan, United States, Britain

Competitors: City Telecom, Hutchison Whampoa, i-CABLE

Year established: PCCW was first listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in October 1994