China Mobile Communications Corp, owner of the world's most valuable phone company, has dropped its policy of only pursuing investments that result in management control, after competition for phone assets drove up share prices.
"In the past, the only policy was: we have to get majority shares," Chief Executive Wang Jianzhou said. "But now, we are changing the policy."
The strategy shift widens the number of possible investments for China Mobile Ltd's State-owned parent, which made its first international acquisition last year through the purchase of Pakistan's Paktel Ltd.
Investors seeking to profit from developing nations have pushed up the MSCI Emerging Markets Telecommunications Services Index 29 percent in the past 12 months, compared with a 6.5 percent drop globally.
"The change in strategy by China Mobile could accelerate acquisitions by the company," Francis Cheung, a telecommunications analyst at CLSA Ltd, said. "It is a better long-term approach for China Mobile, which has been slow to make acquisitions overseas."
The company is keeping its focus on emerging markets in Asia, Africa and the Middle East for possible stake purchases, Wang said at the Boao Forum For Asia conference in Hainan, southern China. The Chinese company doesn't have a target investment for now, he said.
"Many operators are chasing the same assets in emerging markets, so they are very expensive," Wang said.
China Mobile, which bought Paktel for about $460 million, is competing with carriers including Singapore Telecommunications Ltd and Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd for assets in emerging markets, where operators are adding subscribers at a faster rate than in developed economies because of lower mobile penetration.
An attractive investment for China Mobile could be Telekom Malaysia Bhd, which has assets in emerging markets including Ghana, Sri Lanka and Indonesia, Cheung said.
Another possibility is to acquire a stake in Singapore Telecom from controlling shareholder Temasek Holdings Pte, Cheung said.
The shift in the Chinese operator's strategy may mean it is following the model of Singapore Telecom, which started with minority stakes in India's Bharti Airtel Ltd and Philippines' Globe Telecom Inc and increased these holdings over time, he said.
Shares of Hong Kong-listed China Mobile Ltd have lost 8.6 percent this year, compared with a 14 percent decline in the benchmark Hang Seng Index.
Source:China Daily/Agencies
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