Mobile operators in Hong Kong are set to gain a windfall if third-generation (3G) mobile-phone licences are given out rather than auctioned off.
This is based on the result of spectrum auctions in Britain, where five such licences have been sold for a combined GBP16.41 billion (about HK$202.83 billion) for the treasury - more than 10 times the expected amount.
There are still licences up for grabs.
As the average auction price for those five licences already surpassed HK$40 billion, analysts expected 3G licences in Hong Kong should be worth at least HK$4 billion each.
'Britain and Hong Kong use the same spectrum,' said Edison Lee, an analyst at Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia (CLSA).
'But Hong Kong's population is just a tenth of that of the UK.' The difference is that the SAR does not want to auction 3G licences.
The industry watchdog, the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (Ofta) told a Legislative Council panel on Monday that it preferred not to use spectrum auctioning in granting 3G licences.
