China Network Communications Group Corp (China Netcom), the country's second-largest fixed-line phone company, is moving on its initial public offering (IPO) by setting up a shareholding company.

A source close to China Netcom said China Network Shareholding Company will be a combination of China Netcom's three subsidiaries - Netcom North, Netcom South and Netcom International.

"A circular about that has been distributed within the company," said the source who declined to be named.

Analysts believe the establishment of the new company will be a prelude for the company's IPO plan, though the timing is yet to be decided.

But there was no immediate response from China Netcom.

"We are not informed about the circular and can't have any comment on that," said an official with China Netcom's public relations department.

"If the message is true, China Netcom is a step closer to go public on the Hong Kong and New York stock markets," said Chen Jinqiao, director of the China Academy of Telecommunications Research under the Ministry of Information Industry (MII).

"To form such a shareholding company is within expectations," he said.

"However, this may be a further notice that the company is unlikely to get listed in September," he said.

He said the company is likely to postpone its IPO to the end of this year or early next year.

According to Zhang Chunjiang, general manager of China Netcom, one of the tasks on his agenda this year is to make China Netcom listed in the capital market this year.

It is reported that China Netcom was in preliminary talks with many major investment banks for listings in Hong Kong and New York, before considering a domestic listing.

And the company plans to sell as much as US$2 billion of stock to help upgrade networks.

In line with Zhang's blueprint, China Netcom has established three subsidiaries since last year - China Netcom International Communications Co Ltd (Netcom International) in November last year, China Netcom Northern Communications Co Ltd (Netcom North) and China Netcom Southern Communications Co Ltd (Netcom South) in January.

The combination of the three subsidiaries partly proved Zhang's blueprint to establish a shareholding company after the three subsidiaries to enable the company to go public this year.

The listed company is supposed to purchase assets from the parent company step by step.

"All the purchases will be finished before the end of 2006," Zhang said early this year.

Zeng Jianqiu, a professor with the Beijing University of Post and Telecommunications, believed after years of adjustment and integration, China Netcom is almost ready for an IPO.

Presenting its selling points to investors should be at the top of the agenda for China Netcom before its listing plan, he stressed.

Also, factors such as self-evaluation, business performance, scale of subscribers and the international investment climate are the major concerns for the company, he added.

Last week, it was reported that China Netcom's purchase of PCCW's phone business will be delayed.

"Right at the moment, China Netcom should perform steadily before listing," he said.

So far, China Netcom has total assets of 240 billion yuan (US$28.9 billion) with a 58 percent debt asset ratio.

(China Daily July 10, 2004)