HKT Limited (), also used to be known as Hong Kong Telecom (), is one of the largest telecommunications companies in Hong Kong. It has a dominant position in fixed-line, mobile, IDD and broadband services in Hong Kong. HKT Group is a subsidiary of PCCW since 2000, after it was acquired from Cable & Wireless plc.
The company, along with HKT Trust (), is a pair of listed corporations on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which the two corporations were bundled as one single stapled security.
Corporate identities The former holding company of the group was Cable & Wireless HKT Limited (; former ticker symbol: 8). It was a subsidiary of Cable & Wireless plc. It was taken over and privatised by PCCW in 2000. PCCW also started to use the ticker symbol "8" after the takeover. Cable & Wireless HKT Limited was formerly known as Hong Kong Telecommunications Limited (), which was incorporated in 1988; it was renamed to Cable & Wireless HKT Limited in 1999, but renamed again to PCCW-HKT Limited in 2000; PCCW-HKT still use the same registered Chinese name () until 2011, which in the same year the Chinese name became the registered Chinese name of HKT Limited instead.Data in Hong Kong Companies Registry
PCCW-HKT had a major subsidiary PCCW-HKT Telephone Limited (), which was incorporated in 1925 under the name Hongkong Telephone Company, Limited; it was briefly known as Cable & Wireless HKT Telephone Limited () from 1999 to 2000. , PCCW-HKT as well as PCCW-HKT Telephone were still live, wholly owned subsidiaries of PCCW. However, the telephone services are now provided by HKT's wholly owned subsidiary, Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT) Limited instead, after a group restructuring in 2008.
In October 2011, PCCW shareholders approved a partial spin-off of the assets as HKT on the Hong Kong stock exchange (but excluding the two legal persons PCCW-HKT and PCCW-HKT Telephone). HKT was successfully listed on 29 November 2011, as HKT Trust and HKT Limited. HKT Limited was incorporated in the Cayman Islands, while its direct parent entity, HKT Trust, was set up in Hong Kong under the laws of Hong Kong.
History
Domestic telecommunications facilities in Hong Kong became more advanced in 1925 when the Hong Kong Telephone Company Limited (HKTC) took over the interests of John Pender's China and Japan Telephone and Electric Company. The company's mandate included providing all the British colonies with local telephone services. Over the next six decades, Hong Kong Telephone's line capacity grew to more than 2.5 million, with the company serving approximately six million people.International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 30. St. James Press, 2000.
Telecommunications became increasingly important following World War I, and in 1929 the British companies Marconi Wireless and Eastern Telegraph joined to establish Cable & Wireless. The company's strategy was to supply telephone and telegraph services in Britain's colonies, and it succeeded in securing an exclusive franchise to provide international communications services in Hong Kong.
By 1972, the company's biggest operation was its subsidiary in rapidly growing Hong Kong. Hong Kong Telephone, meanwhile, built a new headquarters in 1972. The company's growth was said to typify the colony's transition from an economy based on manufacturing to one dependent on service industries, which created a demand for telecommunications services. In 1975 Hong Kong Telephone's franchise for domestic service in the colony was extended for an additional 20 years, to expire just ahead of Hong Kong's reversion to China's control in 1997.
Chronology Hong Kong Telephone Company 1906: China and Japan Telephone and Electric Company acquired a 25-year franchised licence on fixed-line. 1925: China and Japan Telephone and Electric Company was acquired by Hong Kong Telephone Company Limited (HKTC). The government also granted HKTC a 50 years franchised licence on telephone service. 1968: HKTC's franchise was extended for another 20 years. 1983: HKTC started to build their own mobile radiotelephone service, which was supplied and installed by NEC; in the next year the service went public under HKTC's subsidiary Communication Services Limited
Cable and Wireless (Hong Kong)
1871: The predecessor of Cable & Wireless established its Hong Kong branch, for its submarine communications cables that connect from Hong Kong to Saigon, Fuzhou, Manila, Labuan and Macau (or 1936 according to another source) 1962: Cable & Wireless acquired a 25-year franchise for telephone and telegraph services 1981: The Hong Kong branch of Cable & Wireless plc was incorporated as Cable and Wireless (Hong Kong) Limited (later known as Hong Kong Telecom International; HKTI). Hong Kong government was a minority shareholder for 20%. 1983: Cable and Wireless (Hong Kong) acquired 34.8% shares of HKTC from Jardine Matheson. 1986: Cable & Wireless also announced plans for an underwater optical fibre cable connecting Hong Kong with Japan and South Korea (a part of APCN), to become operational in 1990.
Hong Kong Telecommunications 1988: Cable & Wireless (Hong Kong) and Hong Kong Telephone Company merged to form a new telecommunications group, with the new holding company called Hong Kong Telecommunications Limited, replacing Hong Kong Telephone Company as a listed company on the stock exchange of Hong Kong and as one of the constituents of Hang Seng Index (the blue-chip index of HK). Government of Hong Kong owned around 5.5% shares of the new company immediately after the merger; Cable & Wireless plc remained as the largest shareholder. 1990: Chinese government controlled CITIC Hong Kong acquired 20% shares of Hong Kong Telecommunications from former British state owned enterprise Cable & Wireless plc. 1995: HKT's franchise to provide local fixed-line telephone services expired. HKT was one of the 4 companies to receive the new licence in local fixed-line services 1999: Hong Kong Telecommunications Limited was renamed to Cable & Wireless HKT; the subsidiaries, HKTC was renamed to Cable & Wireless HKT Telephone Limited; HKTI was renamed to Cable & Wireless HKT International. 2000: Cable & Wireless HKT was acquired by PCCW. Cable & Wireless HKT was renamed to PCCW-HKT Limited; the subsidiary HKTC was renamed to PCCW-HKT Telephone Limited; while HKTI was renamed to PCCW-HKT International 2001: the subsidiary HKTI was renamed to Reach Networks Hong Kong, it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Reach Limited instead, a joint venture of PCCW and Telstra; 60% stake of CSL was also sold to Telstra 2002: the remaining stake of CSL, the only mobile network operator of the group, was sold to Telstra 2005: PCCW-HKT takeover Sunday Communications, relaunching its mobile network operator as PCCW Mobile 2007: PCCW-HKT Telephone acquired the licence of CDMA2000 mobile network operator, and launched the services in the next year. 2008 to 2011: Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT) Limited was incorporated; Moody's ceased to assign credit rating to PCCW-HKT Telephone Limited and assign a new rating to HKT Limited instead; it was reported that PCCW-HKT Telephone would become dormant. In the same year, some of the subsidiaries of PCCW, were transferred to an intermediate holding company HKT Group Holdings Limited (HKTGH), for example PCCW Global, PCCW Mobile, PCCW Media, PCCW Solutions, and engineering division Cascade Limited. However, PCCW re-organised HKTGH again in the eve of the 2011 IPO of HKT Limited, which some non-telecommunications businesses were spin-off from HKTGH. PCCW Media and PCCW Solutions for example, were directly owned by PCCW again. Also, HKTGH became a subsidiary of HKT Limited.
HKT Limited 2011: PCCW made HKT Limited, c/o HKT Trust, a spin-off business that separate listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange. 2012: HKT's PCCW Global acquired Gateway Communications, a satellite services provider 2014: HKT re-acquired CSL (known as its holding company CSL New World Mobility) from Telstra and New World Development; CSL and PCCW Mobile merged, with CSL as the surviving brand; the brand New World Mobility of the former CSL New World Mobility Group was renamed to Sun Mobile 2017: HKT and subsidiary PCCW Global jointly-acquired Console Connect, a provider of global interconnection solution. 2025: In October 2025, the Federal Communications Commission moved to revoke HKT International's license to operate in the United States, citing national security concerns due to its affiliation with China Unicom.
HKT (Hong Kong Telecom)
HKT Group Holdings Limited was formed in 2008 to hold the telecommunications services, media and IT businesses of the PCCW Group, a reorganization designed to improve the Group's operational efficiencies. HKT and its predecessor PCCW-HKT, was the first quadruple play provider in Hong Kong, offering media content and services for fixed-line, broadband Internet, TV and mobile. PCCW acquired HKT, at that time known as Cable & Wireless HKT, in February 2000 from Cable & Wireless.
Main business and subsidiaries
Commercial and international business The HKT Commercial Group provides ICT services to small, medium and large enterprises. The group managed the installation of Asia's largest IP-enabled network for securities and derivatives markets, built for Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited and known as SDNet. It includes an electronic passport system, known as e-PASS, and the first batch of Smart Identity Card for the Hong Kong SAR Government.
HKT also provides cross-border network and digital technology services for enterprises operating across Hong Kong, Chinese Mainland and international markets. As of 2025, it has supported enterprises from Hong Kong and mainland China in expanding their operations overseas. Its network coverage extends to more than 40 major cities in mainland China and over 160 countries and territories worldwide. 推動大灣區企業共建高質量發展 香港電訊助內地企業擴展至東盟市場. 大灣區創新經濟系列報道. 信報 (in Traditional Chinese). 3 November 2025. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
In 2026, HKT announced the deployment of the ultra-low-latency 3.2Tbps AI Data Centre Interconnect (DCI) Superhighway, the first of its kind in Hong Kong. The network is designed to support innovation in Hong Kong, by providing high-capacity connectivity between major data centre clusters and support next-generation AI workloads requiring distributed computing and large-scale data transfer, strengthening Hong Kong’s position as one of the most advanced I&T hubs in the world. The first phase, connecting Lok Ma Chau Loop to Tseung Kwan O, is targeted for completion by the end of 2026 and will support the Sandy Ridge Data Facility Cluster upon commissioning.
Netvigator
Netvigator is a residential and commercial Internet service provider in Hong Kong, a brand of HKT Limited. It is Hong Kong's largest Internet service provider (ISP). Netvigator was awarded the Fastest, Best, and Most Consistent Fixed Network by Ookla in the first half of 2026. As of May 2026, HKT’s fixed broadband has met the ETSI F5G-A standard in 57,000 designated buildings.
csl, 1O1O, Club SIM
CSL Mobile is an HKT subsidiary, which operates mobile network brands of "csl", "1O1O" and "Club SIM" in Hong Kong. CSL, at that time incorporated as CSL New World Mobility, was re-acquired by PCCW via HKT in 2013. After the 2013 acquisition, HKT also merged PCCW Mobile HK into CSL. CSL was sold by PCCW in 2001, while PCCW Mobile HK, formerly SUNDAY, was acquired by PCCW in 2005–06.
In 2025, HKT announced the city’s first deployment of 25 Gbps mobile backhaul infrastructure at several major event venues, including Kai Tak Sports Park, the Hong Kong Coliseum, and the Hong Kong Velodrome. The upgrade is designed to strengthen 5G network performance and increase connectivity capacity during mega events, and to support Hong Kong’s growing mega event economy.
SUN Mobile