In this file photo taken on Nov 2020, a pedestrian passes a display promoting China Mobile's 5G services in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. (PHOTO BY CHEN YIHANG / FOR CHINA DAILY)

China Mobile announced Tuesday it will raise up to 56 billion yuan ($8.8 billion) in its initial public offering of A shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

This could be the world’s second-largest share issue this year, eclipsed only by Rivian Automotive, which raised $13.7 billion on the Nasdaq, according to Refinitiv.

In a filing to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, the leading mobile network operator said China Mobile will issue between 845.7 million shares and 972.55 million shares before the overallotment option is exercised, at a price of 57.58 yuan per share

In a filing to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, the leading mobile network operator said China Mobile will issue between 845.7 million shares and 972.55 million shares before the overallotment option is exercised, at a price of 57.58 yuan per share. The telco’s overallotment option is an additional 126.86 million shares.

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China Mobile said the price was based on several factors “including the fundamentals of the company, valuation of comparable companies, the industry in which the company operates, market conditions, needs for proceeds and underwriting risks.’’

This IPO price represents a premium of about 52 percent over the closing price of HK$46.45 ($5.96) on Friday.

Nearly a year ago, the company was compelled to delist in New York last January following investment restrictions imposed by the United States.

In a Dec 14 filing in Hong Kong, the company estimated 2021 net profit of between 107.28 billion yuan and 109.32 billion yuan. For the nine months to September, China Mobile posted income of 80.75 billion yuan.

The issue of 845.7 million shares represents no more than 3.97 percent of the company’s total number of ordinary shares in issue.

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China Mobile said proceeds from the A share issue will be used for projects, including the development of premium 5G networks, new cloud infrastructure, gigabit broadband and smart home, smart mid-end platform, and the research and development of the next-generation information technology and digitalized and intelligent ecosystem.