State-owned China Tower trades flat on Hong Kong debut

HONG KONG: State-owned China Tower – the world’s largest operator of telecommunications towers – kicked off its trading debut in Hong Kong Wednesday in the latest high-profile listing in the city.

Shares were trading at HK$1.28 (US$0.16) in the morning, only slightly up on their IPO price of HK$1.26.

China Tower is the world’s largest IPO since Postal Savings Bank of China’s US$7.6 billion offering in 2016, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

But although Hong Kong’s recent listings have grabbed headlines, investor confidence has been overshadowed by US-China trade tensions and falling global markets.

China Tower raised US$6.9 billion after pricing its initial public offering at the low end of the expected range.

The Beijing-based telecoms giant is the second prominent company to price at the low end recently, following Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi’s disappointing valuation in July.

Some observers say investors may see China Tower as a safe bet on the country’s mobile market because of its government backing.

But others argue the statebacked monopoly could face limited growth due to lack of competition. The muted trading price was ‘reasonable’ given market conditions, said Jackson Wong of Huarong International Securities.

China Tower would enjoy favourable policies as a strategic asset, particularly given China’s push for next generation 5G wireless internet technology and that would benefit investors in the future, said Wong.

While Wong described the stock as “old-economy and not really sexy” it could still be profitable to investors.

“It’s a pretty simple business model and China is trying to push 5G, so we should see dividend-paying very soon,” he said.

Chinese telecoms companies Huawei and ZTE are poised to become global leaders in the 5G rollout, which is beginning this year in several countries.

However, they are likely to face severely tightened access to the US market over data security.

The technology is heavily cloud-based, potentially leaving sensitive data accessible by the service provider.