telecommunications

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- The economic downturn is allowing Malaysia's leader to chip away at an affirmative action program for Malay Muslims that has been considered virtually untouchable in the past.

Soon after taking office in April, Prime Minister Najib Razak scrapped a requirement for 30 percent Malay ownership of companies in certain service industries. This week, he cut the ownership requirement to 12.5 percent for companies that want to list on the stock exchange.

Nathan Road trade corners market in mobiles for half a continent

Under the harsh glare of Chungking Mansions' fluorescent lights, Nigerian handset trader Kingsley Igbom is having a cash-flow problem.

So, what's going to happen with PCCW (SEHK: 0008)? What if I tell you Richard Li Tzar-kai will split it into two entities - a telecommunications company and a non-telecommunications one - and list the former in the future? You will say I must be joking. Isn't the privatisation in doubt now with regulators investigating allegations of share-rigging?

China Telecom, the mainland's largest fixed-line operator, sought to resurrect its initial public offering on Thursday by drastically scaling back the size of the listing to US$1.66bn from as much as US$3.68 bn.