MACAU (MarketWatch) -- China Mobile's chairman and chief executive said Tuesday that the company was looking for acquisitions in emerging countries as the slump in global financial markets over the past year has opened up opportunities at attractive valuations.
"Telecom assets have become very inexpensive and some people say there's a good opportunity for buyers. I agree with them, but it's not so simple. There is no reason for sellers to sell at such a low price," said Wang Jianzhou, speaking at the GSMA Mobile Asia Congress in Macau.
"We have to find some opportunities ... when someone needs the money. [Meanwhile], we will do our best for our Pakistani company," he said.
"We have [non-]disclosure agreements with Apple, so I can't disclose many details. All I can say is that China is still interested in [bringing the] iPhone into China Mobile markets," he said.
"China Mobile is open to all operators, all vendors, content providers and service providers," he said.
China, the world's largest mobile-services market with more than 600 million subscribers, is one of the few big markets in Asia where the iPhone is still not formally launched.
Apple and China Mobile started talks more than a year ago, but differences over Apple's demand for sharing revenue delayed an agreement. The companies reportedly resumed talks earlier this year after Apple abandoned its demand for splitting revenue.
source: marketwatch.com
