China Unicom on Wednesday announced plans to bring in private investment mainly by issuing shares for companies including China Life and Tencent, a major step of the state firm's mixed-ownership reform.
China United Network Communications Ltd., the telecom operator's Shanghai-listed subsidiary, will issue no more than 9.04 billion shares to raise as much as 61.73 billion yuan (more than 9 billion U.S. dollars), according to a document released on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
China Life Insurance will acquire a 10.22-percent stake of the company, while Internet giants Tencent and Baidu will hold 5.18 percent and 3.3 percent of shares, respectively.
After the issuance, private investors will hold a total of 35.19 percent of shares, only slightly lower than China Unicom's holding of 36.67 percent.
The listed company's shares stood at 7.47 yuan per share before a suspension since April.
