China Mobile challenges Kweichow Moutai for biggest-stock crown as traders pile in amid Beijing’s digitalisation push

China Mobile is closing in on liquor juggernaut Kweichow Moutai as the most valuable stock on the onshore market, with traders betting the mobile-network operator will pay out more dividends and tap new revenue sources thanks to Beijing’s plan to digitise the economy.

China Mobile has a market capitalisation of 2.1 trillion yuan (US$304.8 billion), second only to Kweichow Moutai’s 2.2 trillion yuan, according to financial data provider Shanghai DZH.

Kweichow Moutai’s market cap has grown by about 40 billion yuan this year, while China Mobile’s has swollen by more than 600 billion yuan as its stock surged 47 per cent amid a world-beating rally in Chinese telecoms stocks.

China Mobile will allocate at least 70 per cent of its profit this year to cash dividends, up from 60 per cent in 2021, it said in an exchange filing on Sunday. The company added 18.1 million subscribers in 2022, the most in three years, expanding its total user base to 975 million, according to the filing with the Shanghai exchange.

China Mobile is more than a mobile carrier, as its fast-growing cloud services find use in government administration, medical services, smart cities and even autonomous driving, according to Great Wall Securities. The operator has also set up investment funds to access telecoms infrastructure overseas, new media and technology for possible diversification into areas such as artificial intelligence and the metaverse, Great Wall said.