Ma has reportedly been interested inbuying back that stake for some time, but earlierthis monthhe admitted for the first time that hewants to buythe wholecompanyif it's for sale.
Besides expressing little interest in buying into Ma Bell's shrinking long-distance business, he also said he would like to sell off many of his local phone lines.
The request by the government to transfer sensitive payment assets into Chinese hands was seen by many in America as an excuse for a frustrated Ma to do what he had been prevented by his partners from doing for the last 3 years (buying back some of the shares he sold them in 2005 and earlier).