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Ageing China telcos to woo investors as growth slows
China's top three listed phone firms are expected to show signs of slowing growth when they report interim results in the weeks ahead.
China's top three listed phone firms are expected to show signs of slowing growth when they report interim results in the weeks ahead, with investors seeking comfort in boosted dividends and leaner operations.
The three carriers -- mobile operators China Mobile (Hong Kong) Ltd, China Unicom Ltd and fixed-line carrier China Telecom Corp Ltd -- have lost much of their lustre as growth companies as China's market matures and they become more like conventional utilities.
Shares in all three have faded, with China Mobile stock down 10.54 per cent so far this year, Unicom down 23.45 per cent and China Telecom down 23.26 per cent. Over the same period, Hong Kong's main Hang Seng Index has dropped just 2.8 per cent.
Analysts and investors are looking to cash-rich China Mobile, the world's biggest mobile carrier by subscribers, to woo back investors by paying out a bigger dividend when it reports its interim results on Wednesday.
They expect Unicom, which reports on August 26, to show improved performance at its two-year-old CDMA network, which turned profitable late last year but showed signs of slippage in the first quarter.
For China Telecom, which reports next month, the market is looking for signs of accelerating growth from the company's broadband and low-end wireless businesses.
"These companies are getting more and more boring," as growth stories, said Kim Eng Securities analyst Edward Fung. "They're trading at fair levels now, to be honest."
