ZTE to sell bonds for 3G development

Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE has announced plans to raise US$532 million through the sale of five-year convertible bonds to finance the research and development of third-generation (3G) projects, including three projects on TD-SCDMA standard products, Xinhua reported (in Chinese). ZTE's share prices on the mainland and Hong Kong exchanges rose 10% and 4.12%, respectively, following the news. Industry analysts have suggested that China has not issued its 3G licenses in part because it is waiting for the home-developed TD-SCDMA standard to become more mature.