Beijing Telecom snapped up

HONG KONG: China Telecom will acquire Beijing Telecom from its parent group, China Telecom Corp, for 5.5 billion yuan.

Wang Xiaochu, chairman of Hong Kong-listed China Telecom, said the deal will boost its services to businesses in Beijing.

Beijing Telecom posted 470 million yuan in net profit and 2.4 billion yuan in revenue last year, up 19.5 percent and 46.4 percent from 2006. Eighty percent of its total customer base uses non-voice services.