PCCW management wants to unlock more value from the company through the proposed spin-off of its telecommunications operations and its separate listing as a business trust.
'We're always looking for ways, as professional managers and members of the board, to increase the value to our shareholders - that's what we get paid to do,' group managing director Alexander Arena said, explaining the reason behind that plan.
'A business trust is just another way of potentially unlocking value for shareholders.'
PCCW on Monday announced that it was 'in the preliminary stages of exploring the feasibility of a spin-off' and that discussions were being held with the authorities about regulatory issues on the listing of the carrier's telecommunications assets as a business trust.
It will be a first for Hong Kong if rules are changed to support such a listing. Hong Kong currently allows only property trusts, while Singapore allows various trust listings.
'That was an announcement we felt we had to make, and the regulators in Hong Kong thought we had to make, to make sure that there were no surprises in the market,' said Arena, declining to comment further on PCCW's filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange.