China Telecom issued a public response on October 6 via its 'China Telecom Government and Enterprise Services' WeChat account, addressing the real-name whistleblowing by former employee Zheng Jiyan, stating that the project he mentioned had already undergone an internal special review in 2024 and that his remarks were inconsistent with the facts. The response was signed by the Key Account Business Division of China Telecom Corporation Limited, which said Zheng Jiyan was formerly an employee of that division and had been absent without valid reason for 635 days since 2023. After repeated persuasion proved ineffective, the company lawfully terminated his employment relationship on August 31, 2026, in accordance with the Labor Contract Law of the People's Republic of China and company rules. According to Sina Technology, on October 5, a former China Telecom Group employee surnamed Zheng filed a real-name report against multiple China Telecom executives, alleging that the 'National Industrial Internet Big Data Center' project he had participated in involved bid rigging, contract forgery, and other issues, including the illegal extraction of 38 million yuan in fiscal funds. Specifically, he claimed a core software development project was reported as 'completed' in 13 days yet logged 33,779 person-days of work, four wholly owned telecom subsidiaries engaged in internal bid rigging with a procurement budget of 35.0495 million yuan matching the winning bid amount of 35.04 million yuan at a 99.97 percent match rate, and widespread fabrication of 77 million yuan in self-raised matching funds. Zheng also said his labor contract was unilaterally terminated in June 2026. On the performance front, China Telecom's 2026 interim report released on August 20 showed first-half operating revenue of 259 billion yuan, down 3.9 percent year on year, net profit attributable to the parent of 19.6 billion yuan, down 14.9 percent, non-GAAP net profit attributable to the parent of 17.49 billion yuan, down 19.5 percent, capital expenditure of 32.4 billion yuan, and free cash flow of 28.9 billion yuan, up 121.3 percent year on year. The company plans to distribute a cash dividend of 0.1606 yuan per share, tax included, to all shareholders.
China Telecom Corp LtdChina Telecom denies former employee's real-name whistleblowing alleging bid rigging and contract forgery in a state project, a legal/regulatory matter with unclear net impact.
