HONG KONG-China Mobile Hong Kong is buying seven mobile-phone networks from China Mobile Communications, its parent company, for about US$33 billion. China Mobile Hong Kong will sell US$2.5 billion of shares to Vodafone Group plc to help pay for the acquisition, giving Vodafone a strategic stake in the Hong Kong carrier.
International press reports said China Mobile Hong Kong, listed on the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong, will also sell additional shares of the company to help finance the acquisition.
The sale has been widely rumored for several months, and the alliance will give Vodafone an important avenue to enter the lucrative Chinese market. As part of the agreement, Vodafone will exclusively license its mobile voice and data technology to China Mobile in the mainland Chinese market, reports said.
