Confusion over China Unicom $12bn fundraising

China Unicom’s two main units said on Thursday their shares would remain suspended until further notice, amid uncertainty over details of a $11.7 billion fundraising that is expected to be a model case for revamping state firms with private capital. The development comes one day after the state-owned group announced it was raising the funds from about a dozen investors, including tech giants Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu and JD.com. The continued suspension runs counter to expectations that trading would resume soon after details of the fundraising were released. One of the investors named by China Unicom denied on Thursday that it is participating. Adding to market confusion, the deal announcement was taken down from the Shanghai bourse website although it remained on the Hong Kong bourse’s website as well as the website of the Hong Kong unit. An official at China Unicom Hong Kong said the announcement was taken down from the Shanghai exchange due to “technical issues,” Reuters reports.