China Unicom Plans US$11.25 Billion Share Sale

China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. (0762.HK) plans to raise up to 88.06 billion Hong Kong dollars (US$11.25 billion) in a share sale to its major shareholder to fund the development of high-speed mobile network and debt repayment.

The Hong Kong-listed mobile operator China Unicom, which is controlled by state-owned China United Network Communications Group Co., said late Tuesday that it agreed to sell up to 6.65 billion new shares to China Unicom (BVI) Ltd. at HK$13.24 each, a 10% premium to the stock's latest closing price.

The proposed share sale, which is subjected to approvals from shareholders and regulators, is part of the mixed-ownership plan being implemented by Unicom Group. Shanghai-listed China United Network Communications Ltd. launched this month a US$11.7 billion share sale to a group of investors, including China's technology giants Tencent Holdings Ltd. (0700.HK) and Alibaba Group Holding Inc (BABA) as well as China Life Insurance Co.

China Unicom said about two-thirds of the net proceeds would be used to upgrade its 4G network capability and develop a faster 5G network. The remaining funds would be used for other business development and debt repayment.

Unicom Group's stake in Hong Kong-listed China Unicom would increase to nearly 80% after the deal from 74.4%.

Write to Joanne Chiu at joanne.chiu@wsj.com.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 22, 2017 21:09 ET (01:09 GMT)