(Yicai Global) Aug. 19 -- China Mobile has applied to go public on the Shanghai stock exchange’s main board in a flotation that that could see the world's biggest carrier by subscribers rake in as much as CNY56 billion (USD8.6 billion), making it the biggest listing on the mainland in the past ten years.

This would put it ahead of its peer China Telecom which has set its sights on a windfall of CNY54.2 billion when it lists in Shanghai tomorrow. Both firms were removed from the New York bourse in May after being added to a US blacklist.

China Mobile will use the proceeds to construct high-quality fifth-generation networks, new infrastructure for cloud resources, gigabit smart families, new generation information technology and digital intelligent ecology, the Beijing-based company said yesterday.

The carrier posted a 1.1 percent gain in profit last year from the year before to CNY107.8 billion (USD16.6 billion) with revenue up 3 percent to CNY768.1 billion. As of the end of June, it had 5.28 million base stations, 500,000 of which are 5G stations.

State-backed China Mobile Communication Group is China Mobile’s biggest shareholder with a 72.72 percent stake.

China Mobile’s Hong Kong stock [HKG:0941] closed flat today at HKD51.45 (USD6.60).

Editor: Kim Taylor