Following success in Pakistan, China Mobile looks to expand

Zong boosts confidence of its parent to seek global M&A opportunities.

BEIJING: Successful operations in Pakistan have given China Mobile – operating as Zong in Pakistan – the confidence to look for targets with positive ‘business synergy’ around the world.

China Mobile Communi­cations Corp, the parent company of the world’s biggest mobile operator by subscribers, is seeking merger-and-acquisition (M&A) opportunities in the global market, the company’s chairman said.

Compared with counterparts in the energy, manufacturing and financial industries, Chinese state-owned telecom operators have fallen behind in terms of overseas expansion.

The only acquisition by a Chinese telecom carrier was made in 2007, when China Mobile bought Paktel, a money-losing Pakistani carrier, for $284 million from Millicom International Cellular SA.

“The Pakistan case set the precedent for Chinese operators going global,” said Xi Guohua, Chairman of China Mobile, on the sidelines of the annual session of the 12th Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee.



The company was renamed China Mobile Pakistan, or CMPak, and its services were rebranded in 2008 as Zong.

“China Mobile is determined to go global. We keep an eye on every opportunity that is suitable,” Guohua said. He added that he cannot elaborate because of financial rules that govern a listed company.

Guohua said there are many M&A opportunities, whether the global economic climate is good or bad. “But it is very difficult for telecom carriers to make M&A decisions because we are not manufacturers, who complete deals with no loose strings,” he said.

Wang Jianzhou, former chairman of China Mobile, in an interview with China Daily last year, said that the company’s experience in China and Pakistan will boost its confidence in working with overseas markets.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 9^th, 2013.

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