China Telecom completes CDMA acquisition

China Telecom Corporation Ltd (China Telecom) has completed the transfer of CDMA network assets from parent company China Telecom Corporation (China Telecom Group), the company announced in a statement earlier this week. The operator previously leased the infrastructure, which covers 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in the People’s Republic of China (not including Xizang Autonomous Region), from its parent company but in August 2012 it announced plans to acquire the network assets for CNY84.595 billion (USD13.346 billion). The CDMA ownership reshuffle is aimed at improving EBITDA, and allowing the telco to take control of investment decisions relating to the network.