An insider at China Netcom has revealed that the company has completed the sales of most of its industrial assets, with the exception of several enterprises with poor operation.
According to the local media reports, the total value of China Netcom's industrial assets is reportedly over CNY20 billion.
The restructuring of China Netcom and China Unicom is not the only reason for the sales of China Netcom's industrial assets. Early in 2005, China Netcom started to separate its affiliated businesses from the main business and planned to sell the industrial assets. In November 2007, China Netcom released a report and said that the group was undergoing restructuring and some of its affiliated industrial businesses may be sold. After that, the group began to sell its industrial assets, including real estate, mines, hospitals, schools and factories, in the northern areas.
The sales of these industrial assets greatly eased the financial pressure of China Netcom, but it also caused layoffs in many subsidiaries of the group.
According to the plan of China Netcom, the sales of industrial assets will be completely finished by the end of 2008 and the group will decide whether to use the reclaimed capital in China Netcom or to allocate it to China Unicom.
