China taps nation’s who’s who of technology to anchor ownership shakeup at Unicom’s parent

China’s government has tapped 14 strategic investors, including a who’s who of the country’s largest technology companies and private enterprises, to anchor an ambitious plan to shake up the ownership structure of the second-biggest domestic telecommunications network operator.

China United Network Communications, the Shanghai-based holding company of Hong Kong-traded China Unicom, will sell a 35.2 per cent stake for about 78 billion yuan (US$11.7 billion) to a consortium of private-sector investors, according to Unicom chairman and chief executive Wang Xiaochu. The transaction is scheduled to close by the end of this year.

“This represents a significant strategic opportunity in Unicom’s history,” said Wang during a press conference on Wednesday in Hong Kong.

The transaction marks the first case of the Chinese government’s so-called mixed-ownership programme, which aims to introduce private-sector vigour and expertise, fresh capital and innovation to the country's state-owned enterprises.

The consortium of investors include Chinese technology giants Alibaba Group Holding, Baidu, Tencent Holdings and JD.com.

Alibaba, owner of the South China Morning Post, is the operator of the world’s largest online shopping platforms. Baidu runs China’s dominant internet search engine. Tencent produces China’s most popular online games and runs the country’s dominant social media network, while JD.com is an online retail giant.