Unicom sets up financial services operation

China Unicom, operator of the mainland's second-largest wireless network, has established a financial services operation through a joint venture between a subsidiary and its state-owned parent, China United Network Communications Group.

In a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange yesterday, Unicom said the new venture, which will have a registered capital of three billion yuan (HK$3.79 billion), was set up to provide financial services to the company and its subsidiaries.

China United Network Communications Corp, a wholly owned subsidiary founded in Hong Kong by Unicom, will invest 2.73 billion yuan in the joint venture, while the parent will contribute 270 million yuan - representing 91 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively, of the total registered capital.

Unicom said the joint venture would serve as a "centralised platform for the capital management" of its entire operations. It would also help reduce finance costs by providing more funding options to Unicom and optimise the resource allocation within the company.

The venture's scope of business is subject to approval by the China Banking Regulatory Commission and registration with the relevant departments of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce on the mainland.

Beijing this week granted Unicom, China Telecom and China Mobile 4G network licences based on a mainland-developed 4G standard called time-division long-term evolution (TD-LTE).