China Unicom Chairman: Interested In Mobile Payment Services

China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. (CHU) is interested in launching mobile payment services, Chairman Chang Xiaobing said Thursday.

His comments come after China Mobile Ltd. (CHL) Chairman Wang Jianzhou said Thursday that a main reason for the company's planned investment in Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co. (600000.SH) is to develop its own mobile payment system.

Asked if Unicom would also take a stake in a bank, Chang said "every company will take their own road."

Chang, who also serves as the company's chief executive, was speaking on the sidelines of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Chang said he is not disappointed by sales of Apple Inc.'s (APPL) iPhone in China, but he acknowledged there is room for improvement.

Unicom said in December it sold 100,000 of the smart phones since their official launch on Oct. 30.

However, given that Unicom has 144 million subscribers, analysts have said iPhone sales in China are underwhelming because they are priced too high. Apple and Unicom charge $730 to $1,020 for the iPhone, not including discounts on service, making it more expensive than "gray market" iPhones brought into the country through such places as Hong Kong.

Chang also denied rumors that Unicom employees had been required to buy iPhones.

-By Aaron Back, Dow Jones Newswires; (8610) 8400 7702; aaron.back@dowjones.com

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