Chinese carriers to pool $36 billion worth of tower assets
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Chinese carriers to pool $36 billion worth of tower assets

China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom have agreed to divest approximately $36 billion (213.9 billion yuan) worth of towers assets to their tower-sharing joint venture.

The operators have agreed to establish the company, named China Tower, with the aim to reduce duplication of towers and other infrastructure amid tough competition and demand for faster networks. 

In exchange, the operators will gain a combination of cash and shares in China Tower. 

China Mobile will transfer assets worth 116.4 billion yuan for a 38% stake of the joint venture and 65 billion yuan in cash while China Unicom will gain 28.1% of the company in exchange for 63.2 billion yuan, leaving China Telecom with a 27.9% stake for 34.3 billion yuan of assets. State-owned asset holding company China Reform will contribute 8.1 billion yuan in cash in return for the remaining 6% stake.

China Tower will be responsible for the construction, maintenance and operation of towers and ancillary systems for base stations.

The deal is expected to be completed by the end of October 2015. 

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