China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. (CHU) is working with Apple Inc. (AAPL) on introducing the iPhone with wifi functions to China as soon as possible, China Unicom Chief Executive Chang Xiaobing said Saturday, without giving a more specific timetable.

He said the iPhone in China is priced similarly to iPhones in other markets after calling plan costs are taken into account, but added he understood people would like to see lower prices. China Unicom will lower iPhone prices if conditions permit, Chang said. He declined to comment on whether the company has any plans at present to lower the price.

Not including discounts on service, Apple and Unicom charge $730 to $1,020 for the iPhone, making it more expensive than "gray market" iPhones brought into the country through such places as Hong Kong.

China Unicom is the only Chinese telecom operator that offers the iPhone in China, though larger rival China Mobile Ltd. has repeatedly said it in talks with Apple to offer the iPhone in the country.

Chang said China Unicom currently has no plans to invest in a bank and doesn't think it necessary to take a stake in a bank to develop mobile payments. His comment comes after China Mobile said earlier this week it is in talks with Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co. on taking a stake in the lender. The move could help it expand into mobile e-commerce.

Chang said China Unicom and its parent company's capital expenditure would fall this year

-By Aaron Back, Dow Jones Newswires; (8610) 8400-7701; aaron.back@dowjones.com
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