FTSE Group said in a statement that China Telecom, China's fixed-line giant, will be added to the indices from Nov. 18 with 75.18 billion shares in issue and an investibility weighing of 11 percent.

China Telecom closed at 1.45 HK dollars against its initial public offering (IPO) price of 1.47 HK dollars on its main board debut in Hong Kong Friday.

Analysts here said the listing of the company following its postponement earlier this month will enable China's mainland to take an important step forward in liberalizing its telecommunications industry.

Having failed to garner sufficient investor interest for its planned global offering of US$3.68 billion during the first attempt, the company and its underwriters cut the offer size to US$1.43 billion and relaunched the offering within a week.

However, analysts believed the flotation of China Telecom is not only about raising money, but also is an important step to introduce competition in the sector.

(Xinhua News Agency November 16, 2002)