SDIC Pays $688m for 35% of Datang Telecom

The Chinese government’s investment unit State Development & Investment Corporation (SDIC) has announced plans to pay $687.7m for a 35% stake in a newly formed company, Datang Telecom Technology Holding.

SDIC said the stake is currently held by China Academy of Telecommunications (CATT), a unit of the Ministry of Information Industry. CATT also holds a 30.34% stake in the wireless network equipment manufacturer Datang Telecom Technology. It recently sold its 13% stake in Datang Mobile, an unlisted subsidiary of Datang.

Last week, the information industry minister Wang Xudong announced that the Chinese government would issue full-service licenses to telecom operators in 2008 enabling fixed-line operators like China Telecom and China Netcom to provide mobile services. The mobile services operators China Mobile and China Unicom will also be able to provide fixed-line services under the change in regulations.