Chinese Telecom Firm’s Stock Rockets on News

The sizzling telecom sector plus the lucrative Chinese consumer market apparently equals twice the excitement.

Qiao Xing Universal Telephone Inc. shares zoomed more than sixfold Tuesday after the telephone-equipment maker said its application to make wireless phones with a popular technology is under review by the Chinese government.

Qiao Xing, which trades on Nasdaq under the symbol XING, rose $42.88 to $51, after earlier leaping to $70. The stock traded at $2.75 as recently as Nov. 12.

China’s Guangdong province said it is reviewing the company’s application to make wireless phones using code-division multiple access technology, Qiao Xing said. CDMA is the world’s second-most-popular digital cell-phone standard.

In October, the Chinese Ministry of Information said it would authorize three to five companies in China to make CDMA cell phones and grant interest-free loans to the selected companies, Qiao Xing said. The government is expected to review the company’s application this week, said company Chairman Riu Lin Wu.

China currently produces cell phones using GSM technology, or global system for mobile communications. GSM, the most popular standard, is dominant in Europe and Asia.

Qiao Xing Universal has 1,350 retail outlets in China.