South Korea’s biggest mobile telephone operator, SK Telecom, is planning to buy a 10 per cent stake in China Unicom, China’s second largest mobile group, for about $1.1 billion.
SK Telecom intends to seal the deal sometime this year. This is one of the Korean mobile operator’s many efforts to expand operations as revenue sources at home reach saturation point. Analysts, however, feel that China Unicom has an uncertain future not only because its revenues and profits are minuscule compared to its rival, China Mobile, but also due to its fallen share value since its listing in 1999.
