The Company strives to maintain a high level of corporate governance and has adhered to excellent, prudent and efficient corporate governance principles and continuously improves its corporate governance methodology, regulates its operations, improves its internal control mechanism, implements sound corporate governance and disclosure measures, and ensures that the Company’s operations are in line with the long-term interests of the Company and its shareholders as a whole. In 2024, the Company’s shareholders’ meetings, the Board and the Supervisory Committee operated soundly and efficiently. The Company was dedicated to lean management while ensuring stable and healthy operation, and elevated its high-quality development to a new level, while continuously optimising its internal control system and comprehensive risk management in order to effectively ensure steady operation of the Company. The standard of the Company’s corporate governance continued to improve and effectively protected the best long-term interests of shareholders.
The Company persists in refining the basic system of its corporate governance and continues to optimize the corporate governance system and operating mechanism to ensure standardised operation in strict compliance with the Company Law, the Securities Law and the requirements of the CSRC, the SSE and the Stock Exchange on corporate governance. In 2024, in accordance with the latest regulatory requirements from the CSRC and the SSE on corporate governance and standardised operation, and taking into account the actual situation of the Company, the Company completed amendments with respect to eight rules including the Articles of Association and the Rules of Procedures of the Shareholders’ General Meeting, introduced the Working Rules of Independent Directors’ Special Meetings to ensure the independence of the independent directors in performing their duties, and delivered important information of the Company to the capital market in a complete, accurate and timely manner. The Company’s information disclosure work received an A grade evaluation from the SSE for 2023–2024. At the same time, the Company attaches great importance to the construction and improvement of risk management and internal control systems, which mainly include clear organisational structure and management responsibilities, effective authorisation approval and accountability system, clear objectives, policies and procedures, comprehensive risk assessment and management, sound financial accounting system, continuous operation performance analysis and supervision, etc., which play an important role in ensuring the overall operation of the Company.
At two-tier structure is adopted as the overall structure for corporate governance: the Board and the Supervisory Committee are established under the shareholders’ meeting, while the Audit Committee, Remuneration Committee and Nomination Committee are established under the Board. The Board is authorised by the Articles of Association of the Company to make major operational decisions of the Company and to oversee the daily management and operations of the senior management. The Supervisory Committee is mainly responsible for the supervision of the performance of duties of the Board and the senior management. Each of the Board and the Supervisory Committee is independently accountable to the shareholders’ meeting. In 2024, the Company convened a total of 2 general meetings, 13 Board meetings and 9 Supervisory Committee meetings. The convening, holding, voting and disclosure procedures of the relevant meetings were in compliance with the requirements of laws and regulations and the Articles of Association.
For the year ended 31 December 2024, the roles of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company were performed by the same individual. In the Company’s opinion, through the supervision by the Board and the Independent Non-Executive Directors of the Company, with effective control of the Company’s internal check and balance mechanism, the same individual performing the roles of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer can enhance the Company’s efficiency in decision-making and execution and enable the Company to effectively capture business opportunities. Many leading international corporations around the world also have similar arrangements. Save as stated above, the Company was in compliance with all the code provisions under the Corporate Governance Code as set out in Appendix C1 of the Listing Rules (the “Corporate Governance Code”) in the year 2024.
The Company has always attached great importance to information disclosure, strictly complied with the requirements of the relevant regulatory rules of the places where the Company’s shares are listed, and stringently implemented the Rules for the Management of Information Disclosure of China Telecom Corporation Limited to standardise the procedures for the Company to collect, organise, summarise and report important information internally and prepare external disclosure documents, clarify the responsibilities and code of conduct of relevant departments and branches, and ensure the truthfulness, accuracy, completeness and timeliness of the Company’s information disclosure. In addition, the Company actively discloses data such as the numbers of access lines in service, mobile and wireline broadband subscribers, etc. on a monthly basis to strengthen communication with the capital market and improve the transparency of information disclosure. Meanwhile, the Company attaches great importance to the handling of inside information and standardised management of inside information through the Registration and Management System for Insiders of China Telecom Corporation Limited, ensuring the fairness and justice of information disclosure, and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of investors and relevant parties.
The Company established an Investor Relations Department which is responsible for providing shareholders and investors with the necessary information, data and services in a timely manner. It also maintains proactive communications with shareholders, investors and other capital market participants. The Company’s senior management and Independent Non-Executive Directors presents the annual results and interim results every year. Through various activities such as results briefings, investor briefings and investors road shows, the senior management provides the capital market and media with important information and responds to key questions which are of prime concerns to the investors. This has helped reinforce their understanding of the Company’s business and the overall development of the industry. In 2024, the Company conducted the annual and interim results announcement briefings effectively and conducted the third quarter results announcement briefing through online means. The Company proactively introduced innovative modes of communication, including the introduction of a hyper-realistic AI digital human “Shu Shu” which co-hosted the annual results announcement briefing with real people to demonstrate the achievements of the Company’s digital transformation. The management of the Company led teams to overseas roadshows and conducted in-depth exchanges with local investment institutions. The Company organised domestic and international analysts and investors to conduct reverse roadshow with themes of intelligent computing, AI large models and strategic emerging businesses in Shanghai, Guangzhou, etc. to fully demonstrate the Company’s investment value to the capital market. In daily operation, the Company participated in a number of investor conferences held by major international investment banks and domestic securities firms worldwide through on-site and online integrated means to promote communication with institutional investors. At the same time, the Company set up a dedicated investor relations enquiry line to facilitate communications between investors and the Company and better serve shareholders and investors.
In 2024, the Company’s continuous efforts in corporate governance gained wide recognition from the capital market and the Company was accredited with a number of awards. The Company was voted as the “Most Honored Companies in Asia” for the 14th consecutive year in the “All-Asia-Executive Team Poll 2024” organised by Institutional Investor. In the 2024 China Securities “Golden Bauhinia Awards” selection, it won two awards, namely the “Outstanding Contribution Enterprise Award for the 75th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China” and the “Best Listed Company in Investment Value”. It was accredited “Golden Bull Most Investment Value Award” and “Golden Bull Award for Hong Kong Stocks” in the Golden Bull Award poll organised by China Securities Journal. Moreover, the Company was awarded the “Top 100 Value of Main Board Listed Companies in China” by the Securities Times and the “Best Practise of the Board of Directors for Listed Companies” in 2024 by the China Association for Public Companies.
The contact details of the Company Secretary are as follows:
The Company Secretary
China Telecom Corporation Limited
28th Floor, Everbright Centre,
108 Gloucester Road, Wanchai,
Hong Kong
Email: ir@chinatelecom-h.com
Tel No.: (852) 2877 9777
IR Enquiry: (852) 2582 0388
Fax No.: (852) 2877 0988
A dedicated “Investor” section is available on the Company’s website (www.chinatelecom-h.com). There is a FAQ function in the “Investor” section designated to enable timely, effective and interactive communication between the Company, shareholders and investors. Company Secretary and the Investor Relations Department of the Company handle both telephone and written enquiries from shareholders of the Company from time to time. Shareholders’ enquiries and concerns will be forwarded to the Board and/or the relevant Board Committees of the Company, where appropriate, which will answer the shareholders’ questions. Information on the Company’s website is updated regularly.