China Unicom's domestic IPO excites investors
( 2002-09-10 13:41 ) (8 )

Although the final date for the initial public offering (IPO) of mobile carrier China Unicom has not been decided yet, Chinese investors have become excited about the opportunity of investing in the fast-developing telecom giant, Tuesday's China Daily reported.

Industry insiders said the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) is waiting for a more friendly environment to cushion potential market turbulence brought on by Unicom's huge IPO, which previously targeted at even larger number than the 11.8 billion yuan (1.4 billion US dollars) deal hit by Sinopec's IPO.

However, Unicom said recently it would reconsider the IPO figure in a bid to ease investors' anxiety about potential pressures that could arise from such a huge IPO.

China's stock markets dropped as investors worried the approaching huge IPO may sap the already thin market liquidity.

As the first telecom carrier to be listed on the domestic A- share bourse, which is closed to foreign investors, China Unicom has generated keen interest among domestic investors and industry insiders.

As one of the most rapidly growing companies and the first telecom carrier to be listed, Unicom is very attractive to investors, said Feng Lei, an analyst with Beijing Securities.

Meanwhile, experts worry short-term investors may hesitate to buy Unicom shares as the company's big flotation will make profiting from the investment in the short-run a difficult task.

China Mobile and China Unicom, the country's dual mobile operators, have both been listed on overseas markets. Major fixed- line carrier China Telecom is also preparing to go public abroad.