Telecom shares drop as further shake-up plans surface

China’s major telecommunications network operators saw their Hong Kong-listed shares fall sharply on Tuesday as the firms revealed further details of a massive industry restructuring, the Wall Street Journal reported. Industry leader China Mobile fell 2.2% to HK$115 (US$14.73). The firm’s shares have dropped by 6% since the announcement of the industry restructuring on May 24. China Unicom ended trading down 14% at HK$15.88 (US$2.03). The firm’s parent, China United Telecommunications Co saw its Shanghai-listed shares fall by 1.5% to RMB9.59 (US$1.38). China Netcom shares lost 13% to close at HK$23.60 (US$3.02), while China Telecom also shed 13% to end the day at HK$4.95 (US$0.63). Tuesday marked the first day that shares in Unicom, Netcom and Telecom were available for trading after being suspended since May 23.