By Yifan Wang
Shares of China Mobile Ltd. jumped on their Shanghai debut Wednesday, after the Hong Kong-listed telecom operator raised US$8.8 billion in one of the world’s largest share sales last year.
The stock has gained as much as 10% from its offering price of 57.58 yuan (US$9.06) apiece. Shares were last trading 4.0% higher at CNY59.89.
The company’s shares also gained 3.7% in Hong Kong, after it unveiled a new share buyback plan Tuesday.
The Chinese telecom giant’s domestic listing, first announced in May, came amid rising uncertainties for its overseas shares, after the New York Stock Exchange moved to delist its stock in early 2021 to comply with an investment ban introduced by former President Donald Trump.
China Mobile’s peer, China Telecom, also began floating shares in Shanghai under a similar situation. The smaller rival has raised over $7 billion from the listing and its shares, last at CNY4.32, were largely unchanged from the offering price of CNY4.53.
China Mobile, the world’s largest telecom carrier by number of subscribers, plans to spend the deal proceeds on new 5G networks and cloud infrastructure investment.
Write to Yifan Wang at [email protected]
