China Tower Corp listing looks on track, says Unicom chief

China Tower Corp, the state-backed telecommunications infrastructure-sharing joint venture, looks on track for its initial public offering between the last quarter of this year and the first half of 2018, according to a senior industry executive.

China Unicom chairman and chief executive Wang Xiaochu said the Tower Corp listing will not be affected by Unicom’s participation in the central government’s so-called mixed-ownership reform programme, following the Hong Kong-listed telecommunications network operator’s annual general meeting on Wednesday.

Unicom’s parent, China United Network Communications, is one of eight state-owned enterprises in that ambitious pilot programme, which aims to inject private-sector capital and expertise into these companies to improve their efficiency and become more market-driven.

“We expect Unicom to benefit a great deal from the Tower Corp’s IPO because of its stake in this company and the growth it will help spur when China rolls out advanced 5G mobile services,” Jefferies equity analyst Edison Lee said.

Unicom holds a 28.1 per cent stake in Tower Corp, while China Telecom has 27.9 per cent and China Mobile 38 per cent. State asset-management firm China Reform Holding owns a 6 per cent interest.