China Mobile confirms domestic share listing
22 March 2007
China Mobile reported a 23.3% rise in full-year profit on Wednesday and confirmed widespread speculation that it would seek a domestic share listing, the South China Morning Post reported. The company will manage the listing by selling existing shares held by parent group China Mobile Communications Corp. This will avoid diluting the interest of current shareholders. China Mobile previously expressed an interest in listing on the mainland market by issuing China depository receipts but Chairman Wang Jianzhou said an A-share listing was "more pragmatic". There are currently no regulations allowing foreign-registered red chips to list domestically but the regulators have said they will remove any barriers. China Mobile's business has been boosted by strong growth in rural markets. It added 4.9 million users last month, bringing total users to 310 million.