China Telecom Corp Ltd said that it set up a wholly owned subsidiary - China Telecom Global Ltd - in Hong Kong on Thursday to boost its overseas businesses.

China Telecom, the country's largest fixed-network operator, started overseas expansion in 2000, when it established an office in the Americas.

The company operates in 26 countries and regions. It has participated in construction projects for about a dozen submarine optical fiber cables, according to a statement issued by the company on Friday.

"The establishment of China Telecom Global Ltd is an important strategic decision. It will help China Telecom to step up the pace of overseas expansion, and lift our capability of providing services globally," the statement said.

China Telecom runs the world's biggest fixed network and CDMA wireless network. The company posted an 8.3 percent drop in first-half net profit, to 8.81 billion yuan ($1.39 billion), on Wednesday. Revenue rose 14.8 percent to 138.02 billion yuan in the first half of this year.

China Telecom had 146.9 million mobile subscribers as of July, including 53.8 million 3G service subscribers.

shenjingting@chinadaily.com.cn