Emerging market telecoms operator Millicom said yesterday it was in advanced talks with a purchaser, which people familiar with the matter have said is the state-owned parent of China Mobile (Hong Kong). The Chinese group is believed to be ready to announce a deal this week to buy Millicom for about $5.3 billion (€4.15 billion).

Millicom said in a statement, without naming the company, that the potential buyer was performing due diligence.

Millicom, controlled by Swedish telecoms and media group Kinnevik, has more than nine million subscribers in 16 countries across Latin America, Africa and Asia.

If the deal is confirmed, it would be the biggest Chinese investment overseas under Beijing's nascent "go abroad" campaign.

The drive has spurred several major acquisitions, including Lenovo's purchase of IBM's personal computer assets last year, although CNOOC was rebuffed in its bid to buy US oil company Unocal.

Speculation over who will buy Millicom has been strong since the group announced in January that it was launching a strategic review after receiving unsolicited offers.

Sources familiar with the matter said that China Mobile would pay between $48 and $49 a share. It would also take on about $300 million of Millicom debt, giving the deal a total enterprise value of about $5.6 billion.

China Mobile, the world's biggest mobile phone company in terms of subscribers, became the lead bidder for Millicom after Dubai-based Investcom agreed to a takeover by South Africa's MTN .

China Mobile took over Hong Kong-based carrier China Resources Peoples Telephone, but has been unsuccessful in several other attempted takeovers.

Last year, it lost out in the bidding for state-owned Pakistan Telecommunication and it failed to land small Indian mobile operator Reliance Telecom.

China Mobile executives also visited Uzbekistan to discuss buying state-owned Uzbekistan Telecom, state media have said.