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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7438
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HONG KONG 002609 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
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STATE FOR EAP/CM AND EB/CIP/BA ROBRIEN 
USDOC FOR NTIA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/23/2016 
TAGS: ECON EFIN PGOV PREL CH HK
SUBJECT: THE FIGHT FOR PCCW 
 
Classified By: EP Section Chief Simon Schuchat; Reasons: 1.4 (b/d) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  PCCW Limited (formerly known as Pacific 
Century CyberWorks Limited) is considering bids from three 
foreign suitors for its core telecommunications and media 
assets.  Mainland Chinese telecommunications company China 
Network Communications Group Corporation (China Netcom), 
which holds a 20% stake in PCCW, subsequently stated its 
opposition to any changes in PCCW's assets or shareholding 
structures.  Beyond these public statements, a reliable and 
well-informed source has also told us that Beijing is pulling 
out all the stops to keep foreigners from purchasing the PCCW 
assets. 
 
¶2. (C) While there may be high level efforts to shape the 
sale, Hong Kong Commerce, Industry, and Technology Bureau 
(CITB) Principal Assistant Secretary Tony Li said that 
neither the Hong Kong Government (HKG) nor the mainland 
Chinese have a "veto" over it.  He noted that a competition 
review was possible but would depend on the specific 
provisions of the final deal.  Telecom industry analysts in 
Hong Kong pointed out that PCCW's value as a potential entry 
point into the mainland telecommunications and media market 
may already have been compromised by the negative reaction 
from China Netcom and possible further reactions from the 
mainland Chinese Government.  End Summary. 
 
PCCW "Selling Out?" 
-------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) On Tuesday, June 20, media sources indicated that a 
consortium led by Australian investment bank Macquarie Bank 
had offered to purchase PCCW Limited's telecommunications and 
media assets -- just the assets, rather than a share interest 
-- for a reported USD 7.3 billion.  U.S. private equity firm 
Texas Pacific Group and its regionally focused subsidiary 
Newbridge Capital Inc. then reportedly offered a slightly 
higher figure.  Although PCCW subsequently denied the 
accuracy of both reported bid figures, most industry analysts 
agreed that the purchase would be worth several billion 
dollars and that the purchase price would likely include the 
adoption of PCCW's 2.5 billion USD debt burden. 
 
¶4. (SBU) On June 23, a third consortium comprised of Ashmore 
Investment Management, Spinnaker Capital Group, and 
Clearwater Capital also indicated interest in making an offer 
for PCCW's assets.  This group had previously purchased China 
Netcom's undersea cable operation (Asia Netcom) for USD 402 
million.  PCCW refuted earlier reports that its board of 
directors would make a decision on the purchase bids within 
ten days, stating that it was under no time limit to accept 
or reject the purchase offers. 
 
Opposition from China Netcom, Beijing? 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) In a statement released through the Xinhua News 
Agency, China Netcom stated its opposition to any changes in 
ownership of PCCW's assets or shares because the company's 
assets should be, "owned and managed by Hong Kong people." 
China Netcom's spokesperson claimed that the company had not 
received any advance notice of the possible transaction and 
said that the sale of PCCW's assets would destabilize Hong 
Kong's recovering economy. 
 
¶6. (C) Beijing's resistance to the attempted acquisitions is 
more than rhetorical.  We have heard from a reliable and well 
informed source that Beijing is pulling out all the stops to 
keep foreigners from purchasing the PCCW assets, applying 
pressure behind the scenes.  There may also be a 
Beijing-inspired effort to find Hong Kong investors to bid 
against the foreign interests. 
 
¶7. (SBU) PCCW noted in a subsequent press release that it 
would only need to gain China Netcom's consent for 
transactions involving "voting interests," or shares, of the 
company.  In transactions involving the disposal of physical 
assets, PCCW is only required to inform China Netcom of the 
transaction details before the deal is carried out.  Various 
industry analysts noted that China Netcom has three logical 
courses of action left to it: 
 
1) Dispose of its shares; 
 
2) Take measures to block the sale; or 
 
3) Make a counter-bid. 
 
HONG KONG 00002609  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
According to mainland telecommunications expert Lu Tingjie of 
the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, China 
Netcom will have to consult with the mainland State-owned 
Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (Sasac) 
before taking any action related to the PCCW situation. 
 
HKG Comments 
------------- 
 
¶8. (C) CITB Principal Assistant Secretary Tony Li told us 
that the HKG and the mainland Chinese government do not have 
any way to "veto" the purchase of PCCW's assets by a foreign 
company.  Li said that the HKG does not object to foreign 
ownership of telecommunication infrastructure; for example, 
Hong Kong based CSL Mobile is completely owned by Australian 
telecommunications firm Telstra.  In any case, it would be 
inappropriate for Hong Kong regulators to be swayed by 
political considerations, even if they come from Beijing.  Li 
concluded that Beijing disapproval of the situation could 
only affect the PCCW sale in a political sense, perhaps by 
implying a difficult road for any future mainland business 
projects attempted by both PCCW Chairman Richard Li and his 
father, Li Ka-Shing. 
 
¶9. (C) Depending on how the PCCW deal is structured, however, 
the HKG could conduct a competition review of the deal.  The 
Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) has the 
power to block mergers and acquisition if the actions involve 
changes in carrier licenses and are judged to have a 
substantially adverse affect on competition in the 
telecommunications sector. 
 
Telecom Analysts React 
----------------------- 
 
¶10. (C) Credit Suisse Telecom analyst Jeffrey Tan speculated 
that the high caliber of the potential buyers would continue 
to draw greater interest and predicted that more potential 
suitors for PCCW would emerge.  Their primary interest is 
gaining entry into the nascent Chinese integrated internet 
services/media market, an area in which PCCW holds a high 
level of expertise. Tan said that one possible way to 
overcome resistance from China Netcom and the mainland 
Chinese government would be for foreign entities to entice 
China Netcom to join in on the purchase.  They could also 
bring in yet another operator, such as Singtel, that would be 
more politically acceptable to the mainland authorities. In 
any case, continued Tan, Richard Li has much to gain if share 
values for PCCW rise in reaction to the speculation.  Li 
might even be working with his friends to bid up the share 
prices, although such a move would be like "playing with 
fire" and could even affect his father's business interests, 
said Tan. 
 
¶11. (C) Hong Kong University Telecommunications Research 
Project (TRP) Director John Ure commented that Hong Kong's 
telecom market is saturated and offers little potential for 
future growth, so PCCW's real value to purchasers is its link 
with China and its ability to leverage its Cable TV service 
based on broadband internet connections (Broadband TV), a 
concept that is practically unique to Hong Kong at this 
stage.  Ure said that PCCW's Broadband TV offerings are its 
"crown jewel," and observed that PCCW's Broadband TV 
specialist Paul Berryman is in great demand as a consultant 
to media companies in the region.  Ure opined that Richard Li 
has wanted to extricate himself from the telecommunications 
business for quite some time and return to his "roots" as a 
property developer.  If PCCW successfully sells all of its 
telecommunications and media assets, the company would once 
again be a property/real estate company - this time, though, 
with a great deal of cash with which to pursue other 
ventures. 
 
COMMENT 
-------- 
 
¶12. (C) Comment: For Beijing, this possible deal is a matter 
of national security involving key strategic infrastructure 
in Hong Kong.  For Hong Kong, this single deal would be 
equivalent to approximately 20% of the total foreign direct 
investment in the territory in 2005 and a symbol of Hong 
Kong's openness to international business, a feature of the 
city that the HKG tirelessly promotes.  Hong Kong independent 
legislator Albert Cheng also stated that any overt attempt to 
stop foreign investors buying the assets could hurt the 
territory's image as an open city for international 
 
HONG KONG 00002609  003 OF 003 
 
 
investment.  No matter what happens, it seems likely that the 
final result will have consequences for security and 
sovereignty issues in Hong Kong.  End Comment. 
Cunningham