China Mobile surges as $36b plan unveiled

China Mobile Ltd rose the most in more than three weeks after the nation's wireless carriers reorganized the industry by merging $36 billion of network assets.

The world's biggest carrier by subscribers jumped 2.7 percent to HK$93.70 ($12.08) in Hong Kong, the biggest gain since Sept 22. Smaller rivals China Telecom Corp fell 0.5 percent and China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd slipped 2.8 percent. The three operators will share control of a new company holding assets including thousands of base stations.

The restructuring is part of a broader road map for reviving underperforming State-owned enterprises. President Xi Jinping's administration has pushed to overhaul a bloated $16 trillion government sector as the world's second-largest economy heads for its slowest growth in a quarter-century. The carriers have come under pressure as customers increasingly switch to mobile messaging tools such as Tencent Holdings Ltd's WeChat service.