Unicom 'likely' to report profit slump

China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd said it expected to report on Friday an 80 percent slide in its profit for the nine months through September, due partly to higher selling and marketing expenses.

In a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Tuesday, mainland's second-largest telecom service provider forecast its nine-month profit at 1.6 billion yuan ($240 million), down 80.6 percent from a year earlier.

First half profit had plunged 80 percent to a 16-year low after racking up heavy expenses marketing its fourth-generation (4G) network.