Hong Kong Telecom Bid

Pacific Century CyberWorks Ltd. said Britain’s Cable & Wireless picked its proposal over a rival bid by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. to take over Cable & Wireless HKT, Hong Kong’s dominant phone company.

Hong Kong-based CyberWorks, Asia’s No. 3 Internet investment company, will present its proposal to HKT’s board for approval, CyberWorks said. It declined to elaborate on the offer or say when the vote will take place, pending regulatory approval.

CyberWorks reportedly made a cash and stock offer worth about $35 billion for HKT, which is 54%-owned by Cable & Wireless, Britain’s second-biggest phone firm.

A stake in HKT would give CyberWorks a channel to deliver a range of electronic commerce and multimedia services to customers throughout Asia.

SingTel’s withdrawal ends a monthlong battle for HKT and comes even after the state-controlled Singapore company lined up a $1-billion investment from Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. to sweeten its bid.

News Corp., the world’s fourth-largest media company, said today it has dropped its investment plan. Its decision won’t affect its plan to form a high-speed Internet, interactive TV and cellular phone joint venture in Singapore and Asia with SingTel.