Qualcomm Up -2: Rpt Says China Unicom May Use Co s Tech
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NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Shares of wireless-technology developer and chipset maker Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) were up nearly 4% recently following reports that a major Chinese company might build a network using the company's technology.
On Tuesday, Reuters reported China Unicom Ltd. (CHU) has told network-equipment makers that it may build a network based on Qualcomm's proprietary Code Division Multiple Access, or CDMA, technology as early as January.
China Unicom is China's second-largest wireless phone company.
Qualcomm's stock, which recently traded at $61.50, up $1.13, or 3.6%, has been hammered down from a 52-week high of $200 set in January, mainly on concerns over the company's prospects in Asia, particularly in China, the world's second-largest mobile phone market.
Prior to China's winning the much-coveted permanent normal trade relations designation from the United States this spring, Chinese officials repeatedly promised Qualcomm that networks there would be based on the company's technology.
Since then, however, China has backed away from those commitments.
In South Korea, Qualcomm has seen a downturn in chipset sales and royalties after the government there ordered an end to handset subsidies by mobile phone companies.
Korean phone companies have also been debating whether to adopt a CDMA technology based on Qualcomm's technology or one backed by European wireless-technology makers.
Some 17.4 million shares of Qualcomm changed hands Wednesday, compared with a daily average of 15.9 million. |
