China Telecom Corp., Ltd. is a Chinese telecommunications company. It is one of the

red chip Red chip stocks () are the stocks of mainland China companies incorporated outside mainland China and listed in Hong Kong. It refers to businesses based in mainland China and with (majority) shares controlled either directly or indirectly by a ...

listed companies of

state-owned State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public owne ...

China Telecommunications Corporation. Its H shares have been traded on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong since 15 November 2002. It is a constituent of the

Hang Seng China Enterprises Index Hang Seng China Enterprises Index is a stock market index of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong for H share, red chip, and P chip. H share is a class of ordinary share of the mainland China incorporated company that only traded outside the mainlan ...

, the index for the H shares of state-controlled listed companies. The company was also listed on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its liste ...

until January 2021. China Telecom is the second-largest wireless carrier in China, with 362.49 million subscribers as of June 2021. China Telecom was a brand of China Telecommunications Corporation, but after the market

liberalization Liberalization or liberalisation (British English) is a broad term that refers to the practice of making laws, systems, or opinions less severe, usually in the sense of eliminating certain government regulations or restrictions. The term is used m ...

of China, the state-owned enterprise spun off the brand and operated it as a separate company, floating it on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

History

China Telecom Corp., Ltd. was incorporated on 10 September 2002 as a limited company in order to float some of the assets of the group on the stock exchange, specifically the wireline telecommunications businesses in Shanghai, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, as well as other assets from the parent company. In 2003, China Telecom acquired businesses in Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Chongqing, Sichuan, as well as other assets for . In 2004, it acquired businesses in Hubei, Hunan, Hainan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia and Xinjiang and other assets for . In 2007, it acquired three companies: China Telecom System Integration, China Telecom Global and China Telecom (Americas) for . In 2008 the business in Beijing (China Telecom Group Beijing) was acquired for . In 2011, e-commerce business and video media business were acquired by China Telecom's subsidiaries E-surfing Pay and E-surfing Media. However, E-surfing Media was sold back to the parent company in 2013. In 2012, a digital trunking business was acquired from sister company Besttone Holding (a company listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange) for . In 2013, China Telecom (Europe) was acquired from the parent company for . In 2015, China Telecom formed a joint venture China Tower with fellow state-owned telecommunication companies

China Mobile China Mobile is the trade name of both China Mobile Limited () and its ultimate controlling shareholder, China Mobile Communications Group Co., Ltd. (, formerly known as China Mobile Communications Corporation, "CMCC"), a Chinese state-ownedSt ...

and

China Unicom China United Network Communications Group Co., Ltd. () or China Unicom () (CUniq in short) is a Chinese state-owned telecommunications operator. Started as a wireless paging and GSM mobile operator, it currently provides a range of services i ...

. China Tower, which was the largest telecommunications tower group by revenue, became a separate listed company in 2018. China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom were remained the largest clients of China Tower . In August 2015, Chang Xiaobing, former chairman of

, became the chairman of China Telecom as well chairman of China Telecommunications Corporation. While , who previously served in these two positions, was appointed to the same positions in China Unicom. However, Chang was investigated for corruption in December 2015 and resigned. He was sentenced to six years imprisonment in 2017. In 2016, China Telecom was responsible for illegally intercepting communications between the governments of Canada and Korea.

Expansion outside Mainland China

China Telecom (Europe) said on 23 October 2008 it would expand its Asian and European services, aiming to increase its market share in Europe. China Telecom (Europe) became part of China Telecom Corp., Ltd. in 2013. In 2008, China Telecom acquired China Unicom (Macau). The subsidiary was renamed to In 2015 China Telecom (Macau) acquired a

4G LTE In telecommunications, long-term evolution (LTE) is a standard for wireless broadband communication for mobile devices and data terminals, based on the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA standards. It improves on those standards' capacity and speed by us ...

license from the Macau S.A.R. authority. The 4G service started in the same year. In May 2011, China Telecom formed a strategic partnership with the German software group SAP to offer a cloud-based version of SAP's business software to small and medium companies in China. China Telecom, in partnership with

Vodafone Vodafone Group plc () is a British multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates services in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. , Vod ...

, was one of the bidders for a license in the newly opened mobile telecommunications market in Myanmar.

U.S. sanctions

In January 2021, China Telecom was delisted from the

NYSE The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its liste ...

in response to a US

executive order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of t ...

. The same year, the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...

(FCC) revoked China Telecom's operating license in the U.S. for national security reasons. However, China Telecom (Americas) Corp plans to keep offering other services on United States soil. In March 2022, the FCC designated China Telecom (Americas) Corp a national security threat.

Subsidiaries

* China Telecom (Americas) Corporation * China Telecom (Europe) Limited

Equity interests

* Besttone Holding (6.13%)

Shareholders

References

External links

* {{authority control Companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange Chinese companies established in 2002 Telecommunications companies established in 2002 Telecommunications companies of China Government-owned companies of China Internet service providers of China Mobile phone companies of China Companies based in Beijing Chinese brands H shares