China Mobile denies bidding for Millicom

Neither China Mobile (Hong Kong) Ltd. nor its parent, China Mobile Communications Corp., is involved in the bidding for Millicom International Cellular SA, a spokeswoman for the Hong Kong-listed company said Thursday.

The Financial Times reported Thursday that China Mobile, the largest mobile operator in China by subscribers, is among the bidders for Millicom International Cellular, a NASDAQ-listed mobile phone carrier focused on emerging markets.

"The Hong Kong-listed company is not involved in the bidding process... We haven't heard that our mainland parent is involved in the process," said Rainie Lei, a corporate communications manager for China Mobile (Hong Kong) Ltd.

Millicom operates in five major regions: Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central America, South America and Africa with networks in Cambodia, Vietnam, El Salvador, Guatemala, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Last month, Wang Jianzhou, China Mobile (Hong Kong) chairman, said the company's parent was seeking to acquire carriers in emerging markets.
"If the companies our parent acquires run well, then there's a chance they will be injected into the listed company," said Jiang.

China Mobile was one of the final three bidders for a 26 percent stake in Pakistan Telecommunications Co. last year, but the stake was eventually won by United Arab Emirates-based Emirates Telecommunications Corp., or Etisalat.