China Mobile holder selling $147 mln in stock

HONG KONG, Dec 6 (Reuters) A big shareholder in China Mobile , the world's largest cellular carrier by subscribers, was selling about US$147 million worth of stock at a discount of 1.2 percent to its Wednesday close, sources familiar with the deal said.

Shares in China Mobile have risen more than 60 percent over the past year.

That rally has long fuelled market speculation that the carrier could launch a share placement potentially worth $1 billion or more to help finance the build-out of third-generation cellular networks.

Numerous companies and their major shareholders have taken advantage of the Hong Kong market's <.hsi> nearly 28 percent rally this year to sell shares and raise cash.

On Wednesday, a China Mobile shareholder who could not immediately be identified was selling 18 million shares at HK$63.80 each in a trade handled by Morgan Stanley , the sources said.

Shares in the carrier rose 1.33 percent on Wednesday to close at HK$64.60, giving it a market value of about US$165 billion.

The stock hit an all-time peak of HK$69.70 on Nov. 7.

REUTERS DKS GC1728