Australia's Telstra to sell Hong Kong unit to Li's HKT for $2 billion

By Jane Wardell and Michael Flaherty SYDNEY/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Australia's Telstra Corp. has agreed to sell its Hong Kong mobile phone business to a company controlled by billionaire Richard Li for A$2 billion ($1.8 billion), in a deal expanding the scion's grip on the city's telecom market. Australia's biggest phone company said in a filing that it had agreed to sell its 76.4 percent stake in its CSL business to HKT Ltd. , a listed arm of Li's PCCW media conglomerate. Telstra Chief Executive David Thodey said it was the right time to capitalize on the success of its CSL business, which has recorded compound annual revenue growth of 9.4 percent over the past three years. "There are a number of dynamics in the Hong Kong mobiles market that means this is the right opportunity for Telstra to maximize our return on this successful asset," Thodey said in a statement.

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