After the price for acquiring China Unicom's (CHU) CDMA network was published, China Telecom's (CHA) introduction of strategic investors has become a focus of the market.

According to Chinese media, SK Telecom, Singapore Telecommunications and Qualcomm are all said to be the potential strategic investors for China Telecom. However, SK Telecom, which has had stakes in China Unicom, has denied its contact with China Telecom.

China Telecom announced this Monday that it would acquire China Unicom's CDMA network for CNY110 billion as part of China's telecom industry restructuring. Wang Xiaochu, president of China Telecom, said at the time the company is considering seeking strategic investors and is in discussions with four to five firms.

It will be imperative for China Telecom to introduce strategic investors as the company may face a big shortage of funds after the acquisition of China Unicom's CDMA network for which it needs to pay CNY110 billion and spend about CNY30 billion to CNY40 billion on upgrading.