China Unicom Ltd, the country's second-biggest wireless carrier, said it obtained shareholders' approval to sell the smaller of its mobile-phone operations to China Telecommunications Corp for 43.8 billion yuan (US$6.4 billion).

The sale of the business that uses code-division multiple access, or CDMA, technology was approved by most of Unicom minority investors who voted at a shareholders' meeting in Hong Kong yesterday, Chairman Chang Xiaobing said after the ballot. China United Telecommunications Corp, which controls 71 percent of Unicom's stock, wasn't eligible to vote on the proposal.

The proceeds will help Unicom invest 135 billion yuan in its remaining wireless business through 2010 to challenge China Mobile Ltd in the world's biggest telecommunications market by customers. China Telecom, the country's biggest fixed-line carrier, will increase spending on the CDMA business to lure subscribers, and aims to break even within two years.

In a related deal, China Telecom Corp, parent of Hong Kong-listed China Telecom, will pay Unicom's parent 66.2 billion yuan to acquire the CDMA network infrastructure.

(Shanghai Daily September 17, 2008)