China Unicom: No Impact on CDMA Operations Sale from Lehman Crisis

HONG KONG -(Dow Jones)- China Unicom said Tuesday it doesn't expect the sale of its Code Division Multiple Access operations to China Telecom Corp. to be affected by the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings, which is advising on the sale.

The company also has no exposure to Lehman's derivative products, said China Unicom Chief Financial Officer Tong Jilu.

China Unicom's Chairman and Chief Executive Chang Xiaobing told reporters in Hong Kong that the company hasn't held talks with Telefonica on the plan by Spain's dominant telecommunications operator to raise its stake in the new company to be formed from the merger of China Unicom and China Netcom Group Corp. (Hong Kong) Ltd.

Telefonica said earlier this month it will invest some EUR800 million to build its ownership in the new company resulting from the merger and gain a greater foothold in the world's largest mobile market.

Telefonica said at the time in a filing with Spanish regulators that it planned to own 5.5% of the new, merged company following the restructuring of China's state-controlled telecommunications industry.

-By Lorraine Luk, Dow Jones Newswires; 852-2802-7002; lorraine.luk@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

Posted to the site on 16th September 2008