China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd.’s interim operation report for the first six months of this year, which was released Wednesday, hinted that the telecom giant is on the receiving end of intensifying competition and rigorous official demands on the use of its technology.

The company’s total revenue fell by 2.8% year-on-year to 145 billion yuan ($21 billion), according to the official release. In particular, its service revenue and mobile service revenue dropped 1.1% and 6.6% from the same period last year to 133 billion yuan and 79 billion yuan, respectively.

Market competition, the diminishing 4G data bonus, and a government policy urging network operators to roll out fast, cheap internet all affected China Unicom’s profits, the company said. Despite its travails, net profit was up 16% year-on-year to 6.9 billion yuan.

China Unicom will make “solid progress” toward 5G innovation and “actively implement” new development strategies to sustain growth in the latter half of 2019, CEO Wang Xiaochu said.

Contact reporter Zhao Runhua (runhuazhao@caixin.com)

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