China Tower could list sooner to capitalise on rise in telecom operators’ share prices

Infrastructure-sharing joint venture between China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom expected to see a higher valuation from an IPO this year

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China Tower could have its initial public offering brought forward to this year amid the rising share prices of key industry players. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 5:37pm, 11 Oct 2017Updated: 10:59pm, 11 Oct 2017

China Tower, the state-backed company that controls the world’s largest network of telecommunications towers, could have its initial public offering brought forward to this year amid the rising share prices of key industry players.

“If they can get this done soon, China Tower would be able to take advantage of the current bull market and probably obtain a higher valuation than the recently suggested amount of U$10 billion,” Edison Lee, an equity analyst at investment bank Jefferies, told the South China Morning Post on Wednesday.

“We interpret the recent share price strength as an indication that the market believes China Tower’s IPO is near.”

A smartphone shop in Hong Kong’s Mong Kok area. Photo: Nora Tam

The listing of China Tower was initially expected to happen in the first quarter next year, based on information from China’s three telecommunications giants. The company was established as an infrastructure-sharing joint venture by network operators China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom in 2014, taking responsibility for the construction, maintenance and operations of their wireless communications towers and auxiliary infrastructure across the mainland.

Lee said China Telecom’s shares were approaching an 18-month high, while those of Unicom are on the rise.

“Nobody knows when there will be another bull run in this sector, so the China Tower IPO could be closer than we thought,” he said.