Unicom parent in share-buyback move

Shanghai-listed China Unicom announced last week that its parent company, the China Unicom Group, is to buy back up to four percent of the subsidiary company over the next nine months. The move is intended to boost China Unicom's shareprice which the parent considers undervalued on the domestic market. Shares have remained fairly constant around the Rmb2.3 mark for some time, while in Hong Kong the share price closed at HK$7.42 (around Rmb7.7) last week. The parent group currently owns a 60.74 percent share, or 12.874 billion shares, in China's number two mobile operator. No precise figure or timetable has been put on the buyback.

CMI - 22/8/06