On 31 October 2017, China United Network Communications Corporation Limited (China Unicom) successfully completed its non-public issuance of 9 billion A-shares to the strategic investors. As crucial parts of China Unicom's mixed-ownership reform, this issuance, China Unicom’s transfer of 1.9 billion shares to China Structural Reform Fund Co., Ltd. and the employee equity incentives raised a total of RMB 78 billion.

China Unicom is one of the world's Top 500 enterprises and the only state-owned telecom operator listed in Hong Kong, New York and Shanghai. As the only pilot for the overall group mixed-ownership reform, China Unicom’s reform is the first major breakthrough in the opening up of central SOEs to private capital in the communications industry, which opens the basic telecommunications market for private capital and creates a new capital and business model of "telecom operator + Internet". Through the mixed-ownership reform, China Unicom introduces a number of strategic investors creating synergies with the company, including large internet companies such as Tencent, Baidu, JD.com, Alibaba and Suning, vertical industry leaders such as Didi, Guangqi, Wangsu Science & Technology, Yongyou Software, Eastone Century, strong financial and industrial groups such as China Life and CRRC Financial and Securities, and leading domestic industry funds such as China Structural Reform Fund Co., Ltd. and Qianhai FOF.

Acting as the legal counsel to China International Capital Corporation Limited, the sole sponsor and underwriter, KWM fully participated in the mixed-ownership reform, including program design, investor negotiation, drafting of transaction documents and information disclosure document, assisting with communication with regulators and approvals. The project was led by partner Su Zheng.

The mixed-ownership reform of China Unicom is complex and has far-reaching significance. The reform is a benchmark and model for the future reform of state-owned enterprises in terms of path selection, plan implementation, corporate governance reform, management innovation, industrial restructuring and upgrading, and equity incentives.