PCCW Ltd., Hong Kong's dominant telecommunication carrier, said Wednesday it was in talks for the sale of a 20 percent stake to China Netcom, which is seeking a foothold in South China and overseas.

"Discussions are ongoing but no agreement has been reached," a PCCW spokesman said.

A China Netcom spokesman confirmed the talks, and said the two parties would "explore various business cooperation possibilities."

Analysts estimate the deal at about US$844 million based on PCCW's current market value.

PCCW wanted to close the deal within a few weeks, which would turn Netcom into its second-larg-est shareholder behind Richard Li, sources close to the deal said.

Li, 38, owns about 31 percent of PCCW, and his stake would be diluted to about 25 percent if the new shares were issued to China Netcom.

The proceeds from the sale are likely to be used to reduce PCCW's debt, which stood at more than US$3.7 billion in the first half of this year.

Analysts believe any purchase of a PCCW stake would be carried out by China Netcom's state-owned parent group to avoid disrupting its listed arm, which recently floated its shares in Hong Kong and New York.

A stake in PCCW would enable China Netcom, the smallest of the country's four largest telecommunication groups, to expand its business further from its focus in North China, where it enjoys a large market slice but has been suffering from declining margins due to fierce competition.

PCCW, also battling its share of Hong Kong's competitive market, has taken a few steps to restructure itself. Earlier this year it spun off its property portfolio into a separately listed firm.

It first announced a possible tie-up with China Netcom in May, but gave no details about the negotiation progress until last month, when it said the talks were at an "advanced stage."

(Shenzhen Daily December 16,2004)