China Telecom said first-half capital expenditure fell 5% year on year to RMB 32.4 billion, while spending on its computing network rose 97% to RMB 15.4 billion, according to Ming Pao.

The computing network investment accounted for 48% of total capex, up 24.6 percentage points from a year earlier. Executive Director, Chairman and CEO Ke Ruiwen said the shift shows the group is continuing to optimize its capex structure, and he expects second-half capex as a share of main business revenue to decline. He added that the company will keep capex flexible in response to market changes and customer demand.