Unicom’s mixed ownership strategy sees investment from Chinese tech giants
Since state owned telecoms giant Unicom decided to take part in China’s mixed ownership strategy, following approval from China’s National Development and Reform Commission.
A large number of tech giants have come on board to invest in its billion-dollar share sale. It has recently been announced that Alibaba, Baidu, Didi Chuxing and Tencent have agreed to partake in the sale, and are investing $11.7 billion in the wireless telecom company.
A number of private and state investors are set to acquire a 35% stake in the company through both new and upcoming shares. Shares will also be discounted for Unicom’s employees, so that they may take part. The move will support the governments ambitions to enable companies to privately invest within state-owned businesses.
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At present, Unicom is one of China’s largest state-owned businesses, with 270 million customers under its umbrella. The privatisation of state-owned businesses through such large investments from tech companies will therefore enable Unicom to explore and develop new products and services, which will in boost economic growth throughout the country.
At present, China aims to become a leader in AI, robotics, machine learning and cloud solutions. This investment will see Unicom develop its current 4G services whilst exploring the possibility in building 5G capabilities and create further competition within the telecommunications market.