HK telecoms giant restates results

PCCW is losing market share in Hong Kong

Hong Kong's giant telecoms firm PCCW has admitted that it lost $6.7bn (£4bn) in 2002 if its results are reported in line with new US accounting rules.

The loss is more than seven times bigger than PCCW previously announced when it presented its annual results under domestic accounting norms.

The bigger loss is partially attributed to the treatment of its acquisition of Cable and Wireless three years ago.

The troubled company also blames the loss on the decline in value of the assets acquired during the technology stock boom.

PCCW, which is Hong Kong's dominant fixed-line phone firm, is currently undergoing a major restructuring to tackle the debt built up during that time.

Crackdown

The enormous disparity between the results reported in Hong Kong and the US suggests the importance of new rules governing any firm that is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

The changes followed the high-profile collapse of Enron, and an even larger accounting scandal at WorldCom.

Both firms managed to report their annual accounts in a way that was highly misleading to investors.

The US is now imposing its tougher accounting rules on foreign firms listing in the US, in a bid to give investors a clearer picture of what is really going on.

PCCWs' share price has fallen by more than 90% since a peak in 2000.