The deal gives China Mobile a nearly 30% stake in one of the largest telecommunication operators in Hong Kong. China Mobile first expressed interest in acquiring HKBN nearly two years ago.

This comes after China Mobile acquired a 15.5% holding in HKBN from TPG for roughly HK$1.20 billion

It follows China Mobile’s earlier move in April when it acquired a 15.5% holding in HKBN from TPG for approximately HK$1.20 billion, prompting speculation over if China Mobile planned to take over the company.

China Mobile is the world’s biggest wireless carrier by users. The investment enables it to strengthen its position in Hong Kong’s broadband market and to tap into HKBN’s subscriber base and infrastructure network.

HKBN offers residential and enterprise fibre broadband and data centre services.

China Mobile has been considering this acquisition for some time, particularly after HKBN garnered plenty of interest after its shares rose by 24% in 2024. The deal has been examined by Hong Kong’s Communications Authority, which considered how the acquisition could impact the telecoms sector.

Particularly across the fixed local access network space, a merger of this scale could help China Mobile scale its networks further and reduce operating costs.

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