A China Mobile employee adjusts and tests 5G base station equipment at Tongling Railway Station in East China's Anhui Province on April 27. Photo: cnsphoto

China Mobile on Monday announced that funds raised from its listing in the A-share market will be used in a series of projects including 5G boutique network rollout, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing and next-generation mobile communication technologies such as 6G, involving a total of 56 billion yuan ($8.71 billion).

According to a statement by the company, 28 billion yuan will be used in 5G boutique network construction projects, 10 billion yuan in the research and development of next-generation telecom technology and digital intelligence ecosystem construction projects, focusing on key areas such as AI, the Internet of Things, cloud computing and other key areas to carry out technological research, and conduct forward-looking research on next-generation mobile technologies such as 6G.

The company said that if the actual funds raised fall short of the amount needed, the company will supply the rest from internal resources or money raised from other sources.

China Mobile will hold a meeting for shareholders in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on June 9 to seek approval for the proposal.

Industry analysts said that China Mobile's return to the A-share market should be something that the company is happy to do, with or without the US crackdown, as its valuation is expected to swell in the Chinese mainland, where capital is plentiful and investors are more familiar with the company's business.

By listing on the A-share market, China Mobile will be able to raise more funds as many of its users will become investors. It will also have more chances to carry out industry chain cooperation, media and technology analyst Fu Liang told the Global Times.

On May 17, China Mobile approved plans for a potential HK$47.08 billion ($6.06 billion) listing in Shanghai, weeks after the Chinese telecom firm said it was to be delisted by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under an investment ban launched by the Trump administration in 2020.

Two other carriers, namely China Telecom and China Unicom Hong Kong, were also delisted by the NYSE.

Experts said that amid the increasingly unfriendly US business environment, more and more Chinese firms listed in the US are returning to home markets, as the move will also drive their valuations up.

Global Times