HKTV feud may end in big payout for Wong
Legal experts say China Mobile would face heavy compensation costs to break HK$142m contract to sell online Hong Kong subsidiary
China Mobile will have to pay hefty compensation to HKTV boss Ricky Wong Wai-kay to break his deal for the company's Hong Kong online television subsidiary, legal experts warned yesterday.
The state-owned communications giant has launched a probe into the HK$142 million deal, saying it might have violated mainland rules.
It is investigating why the mainland agency that administers Beijing's assets was not notified before the deal was signed.
Meanwhile, the controversy took a new twist yesterday when Wong confirmed he had applied for a judicial review of the Hong Kong government's decision not to award his firm a free-to-air television broadcasting licence.
Critics say that the government's refusal and now the furore over the deal with China Mobile - which would give Wong control of a fully functional mobile TV operation in Hong Kong - are signs of a conspiracy to shut him out of the city's broadcasting industry.
Wong's deal was completed on December 20 and HKTV said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange yesterday that it does not anticipate any change to this position.
Wong said the investigation was "none of his business" and HKTV would launch on July 1. He said the probe applied only to state-owned companies while HKTV is a Hong Kong company. Legal experts also said the deal was not subject to ratification by the mainland authorities. And they said for China Mobile to break it would require a big compensation payout or could leave the company facing a lawsuit.
