China Tower IPO, investment from internet giants may boost mainland telecoms expansion
The industry’s massive state-backed infrastructure-sharing joint venture is widely expected to conduct its IPO by the end of next year
A highly anticipated initial public offering and potential investment from mainland internet giants could give a boost to China’s telecommunications industry next year, driving the efforts of its three incumbent network operators to step up preparations for nationwide 5G infrastructure development and launch advanced new services.
China Tower Corp, the industry’s massive state-backed infrastructure-sharing joint venture, is widely expected to conduct its IPO in Hong Kong by the end of next year, a target that was reaffirmed last month by its chairman, Liu Aili.
Unicom, meanwhile, confirmed in October that its parent, China United Network Communications Group, was among the initial batch of participants in Beijing’s state-owned enterprise “mixed-ownership reform plan”, which would involve strategic funding from major domestic private-sector enterprises.
We expect the Tower company to improve its efficiency and break even either by the end of this year or early 2017