Citi: Raises target prices for China Mobile and China Unicom, maintains "Buy" rating.

Citi released a research report maintaining "Buy" ratings on China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom; among them, China Mobile's target price was raised 5.1% from HK$97 to HK$102, China Unicom's target price was raised 18.6% from HK$7 to HK$8.3, and China Telecom's target price was maintained unchanged at HK$5.7. The report noted that in the third quarter of 2026, the revenue of China's telecommunications industry may continue to come under pressure; in the first eight months of this year, industry revenue fell 2.2% year on year. This mainly stems from a base reset brought about by value-added tax adjustments, rather than an equivalent deterioration in underlying demand. The bank believes that this slowdown has largely been digested by the market, and investors' focus is shifting to the commercialization and monetization of AI infrastructure as well as dividend returns. Although total capital expenditure has declined, more than one-third of the three telecom operators' 2026 investment is shifting toward computing infrastructure. It is estimated that by 2028, the total data center capacity of the three telecom operators is expected to double from 8.7 gigawatts in 2024 to 17.5 gigawatts. From a valuation perspective, H-shares are more attractive, with an average dividend yield of about 7%.