Hong Kong telecom PCCW abandons privatisation bid

Hong Kong telecoms giant PCCW on Thursday scrapped the 2.1 billion US dollar bid by its chairman, Richard Li, to take the firm into private hands, the company said in a statement.

Though a Hong Kong court on Wednesday blocked the privatisation move, Li and his partners still had the option of taking the case to the Court of Final Appeal.

But Li said he had decided against pursuing the bid.

"From a commercial perspective and taking into account the company's interests... the privatisation proposal will now lapse," he said in a statement.

Li said he was "disappointed" by Wednesday's ruling but said the case had been become a burden to the company and "unnecessarily divisive to society."

Li -- the son of Hong Kong's richest man, Li Ka-shing -- has been trying to either sell or take the firm private for three years.

The case has gripped the financial hub as it pitted one of the city's most prominent tycoon families against both the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and minority shareholders.

The case hinged on whether the buyout scheme by Li and his partner, China Netcom, had won shareholder approval of the buyout scheme in February by rigging the vote.

Li said the firm would give a special 1.30 Hong Kong dollar (17 US cents) per share dividend to shareholders, in lieu of a final dividend for 2008.