China Mobile puts its hands up for issuing depository receipts for mainland Chinese investors
The upcoming Hong Kong IPO of China Tower, which could match smartphone maker Xiaomi’s potentially huge listing, will also benefit its largest shareholder China Mobile, chairman says
China Mobile, the world’s largest telecoms operator by subscribers, said it will consider returning to the mainland for a listing via the Chinese Depository Receipt trial, with the main purpose of letting its 900 million domestic users “share the fruits of growth”, after regulators release relevant rule details.
The Hong Kong-listed company is one of a handful eligible for issuing CDRs, as the recently announced trial programme only allows those overseas-listed Chinese companies with a market cap of at least 200 billion yuan (US$31.4 billion) to float at home.
The programme also applies to private firms in “innovative sectors” valued at 20 billion yuan or more and with operating revenues of at least 3 billion yuan in the past year.
Beijing announced the CDR trial earlier this year, which is modelled on US-listed American depository shares, in a bid to lower regulatory barriers for offshore-listed Chinese companies to list at home.
“We are closely watching [the CDR mechanism],” Shang Bing, chairman and executive director for China Mobile, said on Thursday in Hong Kong at the company’s annual general meeting.