Shares of Hong Kong phone operator PCCW Ltd (電訊盈科) declined as they resumed trade yesterday amid uncertainties and heavy press speculation surrounding rival bids for the company's core assets.
After being suspended three times in the previous four sessions, PCCW was down 1.74 percent at HK$5.65 on resuming trade yesterday. On Thursday, it had surged 10.6 percent to HK$5.75 in just eight minutes of trade before being suspended.
The blue-chip telecom company, controlled by Richard Li (李澤楷), the younger son of Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing (李嘉誠), is in negotiations with Australia's Macquarie Bank Ltd and US private-equity firm TPG-Newbridge over a possible sale of its telecommunications and media assets.
The bids are in the range of US$7 billion, Dow Jones Newswires said quoting unidentified people familiar with the situation.
Investors were sidelined amid a barrage of news reports and the potentially political impact the sale could make, said Peter Lai, director of DBS Vickers Research.
"Investors don't know what's lying ahead. They especially don't understand why Richard Li will want to annoy Beijing," Lai said, referring to objections from state-owned China Netcom (
In a statement yesterday, Newbridge acknowledged China Netcom's concerns, stressing it was prepared to cooperate with shareholders to pursue a deal that's "acceptable to all parties."
PCCW said in a statement yesterday that media reports saying it would make a decision over the bids within 10 days, and those saying the company will pay special dividends to encourage shareholders to support the possible sale, were pure speculation.
"No time limit has been set by the board for its consideration and decision-making of either expression of interest," the statement said.
"No consideration has yet been given by the board as to what might be done with any proceeds of sale," it said.
The company had no intention of disclosing any details of the bids at this stage, it added.
The unusual trading pattern of PCCW shares over the past few days drew concerns from Hong Kong finance chief Henry Tang (唐英年), who requested the regulatory watchdog to probe the matter, the Wen Wei Po and Oriental Daily newspapers reported yesterday.
A spokeswoman at the Securities and Futures Commission, who declined to be named citing policy, said she could not comment on individual cases.
Trading of PCCW and its mobile phone unit SUNDAY Communications Ltd resumed yesterday.
Hong Kong media reported yesterday that a group of private equity investors would join Macquarie and Newbridge in bidding for PCCW's assets.
The group consisted of Ashmore Investment and Spinnaker Capital, both of London, and New York's Clearwater Capital, the South China Morning Post newspaper reported, citing unidentified sources.
Meanwhile, Chinese-language newspaper Ming Pao Daily said Li was hoping to sell some telecom assets and pay-TV NOW Broadband TV and use the cash to buy a stake in Hong Kong broadcaster Television Broadcasts Ltd.
PCCW is best known for developing the Cyberport technology park project in Hong Kong, which drew fire because the Hong Kong government awarded the development rights to PCCW without offering the bid for tender.
Critics have charged that the project has become a real estate venture, with its high-end residential component, Bel-Air, overshadowing the technology office space.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source