China Telecom to announce Unicom purchase

China’s largest fixed-line telecom operator, China Telecom, will announce a deal for the purchase of the CDMA mobile network assets and business of China Unicom after markets close on Monday, the South China Morning Post reported. China Unicom is also likely to announce a merger with China Netcom Group soon, pending approval from the stock exchange. China Telecom is expected to pay more than US$14.4 billion for China Unicom’s assets, including US$8.6 billion for the network of China Unicom’s parent, China United Telecommunications Group. The purchase would help China Telecom enter the mobile business quickly and would allow it to offer bundled fixed and mobile services. The deals come after China revealed plans for the restructuring of its telecom industry in late May.