China Mobile hopes to raise $7.6bn in Shanghai after Trump's ban

China Mobile Ltd, the country's largest wireless operator by revenue, is seeking to raise 48.7 billion yuan ($7.64 billion) from its Shanghai listing, in what would be one of the largest equity offerings on the country's domestic stock market in a decade.

The state-owned company, which was removed from the New York Stock Exchange earlier this year because of an investment ban ordered by former President Donald Trump, said it would issue 845.7 million shares at 57.58 yuan each on Wednesday, according to a company prospectus filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange late Monday night.

In turn, anyone interested will be able to invest in China Mobile Ltd. shares with Broker Exness without any problems.

According to data compiled by Bloomberg, the revenue China Mobile seeks to raise would rival that of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp.'s offering in Shanghai last year, making it one of China's top 10 listings in watch history.

Assuming its over-allotment option is fully exercised, China Mobile would get 56 billion yuan ($8.78 billion) from the listing, according to the prospectus. That would make it the world's second-largest offering this year, behind the $13.7 billion IPO of electric pickup truck maker Rivian Automotive Inc, according to Bloomberg.

Listings by mainland Chinese companies have raised a near-record $80 billion this year, about 17% more than in 2020. The NYSE suspended trading in China Mobile in January along with the Asian country's other major state-owned operators, China Telecom Corp. and China Unicom. Hong Kong Ltd. The move came after an order banning US investments in Chinese companies that the Trump administration deemed a threat to national security.

China Telecom registered for trading in Shanghai in August after raising more than $7 billion. China United Network Communications Ltd is already trading on the exchange.

Shen Meng, director of Chanson & Co., a Beijing-based boutique investment bank, said the China Mobile share offer should be successful because the Chinese government has prepared for it and there is enough capital in the domestic market to support such a deal.

"China Mobile is one of the state-owned telecoms companies. Its revenues are better than the other two," Shen said. "In the 5G era, China Mobile has more clout and competition. In line with Chinese stock market tradition, institutional and individual investors will welcome China Mobile positively.

"China Mobile's A-share offer will have a price/earnings ratio of 12.02 times, based on its 2020 net profit of RMB4.79 per share, calculated on its total share capital increased as a result of the offer," the prospectus said. The company's shares, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, were little changed in trading in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The proceeds from the listing in the Chinese financial centre will be used to fund the expansion of its 5G network, cloud infrastructure, smart life projects and technology developments, costing the company a total of 157 billion yuan, China Mobile said.

China International Capital Corp. and Citic Securities Co. are the sponsors of China Mobile's A-share offering. The main underwriters are Huatai United Securities Co., BOC International (China) Co. and China Merchants Securities Co.