Despite The Benefits, A China Unicom-Telecom Merger May Be Unlikely

Unicom and Telecom have about 288 million and 194 million wireless subscribers, respectively, compared to China Mobile's 823 million subscribers. Telecom and Unicom had EBITDA margins of roughly 30% in 2014, per our estimates, compared to over 40% for China Mobile. Revenue synergies could also be meaningful, owing to network integration, the wider marketing and distribution reach and potential for cross-selling wireline and broadband services - as Unicom's wireline operations are stronger in nor...