China Unicom has officially announced that it will compete in the bidding of the fifth 3G license in Hong Kong.

The Office of the Telecommunications Authority in Hong Kong is currently reviewing the qualification of each bidder and it is expected to auction the 3G license at a base price of HK$76 million by the end of this month. It is said that the owner of the license will be entitled to spend one year laying down networks in Hong Kong and launch CDMA 2000 based 3G service in the area before November 20, 2008.

China Unicom's president Chang Xiaobing had previously expressed his wish for also bidding for Hong Kong's 3G license for the purpose of making use of the 3G network in Hong Kong and Macau to provide roaming service for Chinese mainland's CDMA users.

China Unicom's report shows that the company's revenue from long distance calls and roaming services in Hong Kong and Macau reaches more than CNY100 million every year. Earlier, the company obtained the rights of constructing CDMA 2000 in Macau.