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.