HK eyes RP phone market

HK eyes RP phone market

HONG KONG (Reuters): Hong Kong's First Pacific Co Ltd appears
to be close to a deal for a major stake in Philippine Long
Distance Telephone Co. as both firms said an announcement may be
made later on Thursday.

Such a deal would give First Pacific a sizable chunk of the
Philippines' market-leading telecommunications company and the
chance to wring more profits out of PLDT by improving the
company's efficiency, analysts said.

"In principle, it should be a shareholder value-enhancing
deal," said analyst Joan Kiernan of ABN Amro Asia Ltd. "It is
likely that First Pacific should be able to improve the
efficiency of PLDT."

First Pacific asked the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong on
Thursday to suspend trading in its shares pending an announcement
on a potential major acquisition, the exchange said in a
statement.