China Mobile to raise up to 56b yuan in Shanghai listing

[SHANGHAI] China Mobile, the world's largest mobile network operator by total subscribers, said on Tuesday (Dec 21) it aims to raise up to 56 billion yuan (S$12 billion) in a Shanghai public offering, a year after being kicked off the New York Stock Exchange.

A growing number of US-listed Chinese companies are seeking listings in China or Hong Kong amid rising Sino-US tensions.

Washington this month blacklisted Chinese companies, including AI company SenseTime Group, over allegations of human rights violations, and finalised rules to kick non-compliant Chinese firms off American exchanges in three years.

China Mobile said in a prospectus that it plans to sell up to 845 million shares at 57.58 yuan apiece, raising as much as 48.7 billion yuan before an over-allotment option is exercised.

After that option is fully exercised, it will raise up to 56 billion yuan.

China Mobile's smaller state-owned rivals, China Telecom and China Unicom, are already listed in China.

The 3 were delisted from the New York stock exchange after a Trump-era decision to restrict investment in Chinese technology firms, which has been left unchanged by the Biden administration amid continuing tensions between Washington and Beijing.

In addition to the sanctions, the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) this month finalised rules to delist US-listed Chinese companies under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (HFCAA).

According to accounting firm EY, 5 of the top 10 Hong Kong listings in 2021 were secondary listings of US-listed Chinese companies, including Baidu and Bilibili, and the trend of Chinese companies coming home will continue.

REUTERS