New | Unicom poised to get private-sector investor, pioneering next stage of China’s SOE reform

China Unicom, operator of the world’s sixth-largest mobile network by subscribers, is poised to get a strategic private-sector investor, making the company a major test case in the country’s ambitious reform of state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

In a regulatory filing late on Wednesday, Unicom said its parent, China United Network Communications, aims to push forward with implementing the central government’s so-called mixed-ownership reform plan involving investors from the mainland’s private sector.

The company said this “may potentially involve a change in the shareholding structure” of its Shanghai-listed parent.

“As the related plan ... is still under further deliberation, these matters are still subject to substantial uncertainty,” it said.

With a charismatic industry leader at its helm, the country’s second-largest wireless network subscriber base and an aggressive growth strategy, Unicom will likely provide Beijing with a solid reference case for its mixed-ownership scheme for SOEs.

Unicom reported that its total mobile subscribers reached 265.6 million as of February 28, which included 116.1 million 4G users.