China Telecom Corp., a Chinese fixed- line phone operator listed in Hong Kong, said it may sell shares in China if the company is granted a license to operate a high- speed mobile-phone service in the nation.

"The company will have new funding needs when it has new business opportunities, such as 3G and Internet television," Chairman Wang Xiaochu told reporters after the Beijing-based company's shareholders meeting in Hong Kong today.

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China Telecom and smaller fixed-line rival China Netcom Group Corporation (Hong Kong) Ltd. plan to expand in the faster-growing mobile market by obtaining government permits to operate third- generation services. The country's phone carriers may invest $20 billion to build 3G networks, which allow faster downloads of music and video, CLSA Ltd. analyst Francis Cheung said.

"We have a mandate to issue 20 percent of our equity in new stock, and some of that may be A-shares," Wang said.

This year, Hong Kong-listed Chinese companies including Bank of Communications Ltd. and China Life Insurance Co. have sold so- called A-shares, or yuan-denominated stock traded in domestic stock exchanges, to tap a market that has surged more three-fold in the past 12 months.

China Mobile Ltd., the country's largest mobile-phone company, and China Netcom both said this month that they are seeking government approval for domestic listings of existing shares held by their parent companies. Businesses incorporated outside China, including both China Mobile and China Netcom, are at present not permitted to offer yuan shares to domestic investors, according to stock market regulations in the country.

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