Thai True Corp shareholders approve stake sale to China Mobile

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Shareholders of Thailand's True Corp Pcl on Friday approved a plan to sell new shares to China Mobile Ltd.

China Mobile has agreed to buy an 18 percent stake in True for $881 million in Thailand's first major corporate deal since the military coup in May.

The share sale is part of True Corp's plan to raise funds via a $2 billion equity issue.

True Corp, 59 percent owned by Thai billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont's Charoan Pokphand Group, plans to use 52 billion baht (96 million pound) from the proceeds to repay part of its 95 billion baht debt, with the rest for future investment, the company has said.

The debt repayment will help reduce True's debt-to-equity ratio to just 0.6 from 11 at the end of the first quarter, analysts say.

True Corp is the only Thai telecoms operator offering a full range of services from mobile, fixed-line phones to broadband Internet and cable television.

(Reporting by Khettiya Jittapong and Manunphattr Dhanananphorn; Editing by Ryan Woo)