China Unicom sells 'dead' assets via online auction

China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd, the country's second-largest telecom carrier by subscribers, has teamed up with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd to sell its assets on the latter's online auction platform.

The move makes China Unicom the first central State-owned enterprise to auction assets on an internet platform, as part of the Beijing-based company's broader push to deepen its mixed-ownership reform.

According to China Unicom, 150 of its branches have opened accounts on Taobao, an e-commerce platform of Alibaba, to sell what it calls "dead" assets, to make better use of existing resources and boost efficiency.