TCL Communication to trade shares in HK
By Chen Zhiming (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-09-21 08:46

TCL Communication Technology Holdings Ltd, the mobile phone-making unit of TCL International Holdings Ltd, has announced that it will trade its shares in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange next Monday.

Shares in TCL Communication will be traded under the stock code "2618." Morgan Stanley and China International Capital Corporation are the joint sponsors of the deal.

The company is to list its mobile phone business via introductory listing instead of an initial public offering exposed to unfavourable market conditions. An introductory listing means the company will not offer new shares to the public.

The company says TCL International is distributing 40 TCL Communication shares as a dividend to shareholders for every 100 TCL International shares held.

After the disposal, TCL International's stake in TCL Mobile will decline to 1.8 per cent from 40.8 per cent.

Previously, the Shenzhen-listed TCL Corp held 36 per cent of the mobile units, while TCL International Holdings Ltd, the Hong Kong-listed arm of TCL Corp owns 40.8 per cent of the mobile unit.

The rest is held by two Hong Kong venture capital funds and senior managers of the unit.

TCL Communication, which owns all the assets of Huizhou TCL Mobile Communications Co (TCL Mobile), will incorporate all mobile phone business units.

Roadshows will be unveiled this week in Hong Kong and Singapore to attract more investors, sources close to the company said yesterday.

"The listing plan showed the company's ambition to raise more funds from the market to further boost its mobile phone business," said Dai Chunrong, an analyst from China Securities.

Also, with a focus on mobile phone business, TCL Communications is likely to become more competitive in the domestic market, she said.

As a leading domestic handset marker, TCL Communication sold a total of 9.8 million handsets last year. It aims to sell 11 million handsets this year.

Li Dongsheng, TCL Commu-nication board chairman, said the company is striving to become a leading handset vendor both home and abroad.

He also said TCL Communication is to further enhance its research and development to roll out more new handsets.

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