HUTCHISON Telecommunications International Ltd, the mobile-phone carrier controlled by billionaire Li Ka-shing, rose in Hong Kong trading after the company said yesterday it's considering paying dividends.

The telco rose 3.8 percent to close at HK$8.70 (US$1.1), after climbing as much as 19 percent earlier. It will hold a board meeting on November 12 to consider dividends, according to a filing to the city's stock exchange on Sunday.

Hutchison Telecom, 60 percent owned by Li's Hutchison Whampoa Ltd, may return some of its US$4.6 billion of cash holdings to investors if an acquisition is not made this year, Chief Executive Officer Dennis Lui said in August. The prospect of a special dividend has driven the stock to outperform leading Hong Kong shares in 2008, CLSA Ltd analyst Elinor Leung said.

"We don't think they'll be able to make an M&A this year," Leung, who rates Hutchison Telecom shares "outperform," said by phone with Bloomberg News yesterday. "We think they will likely pay a special dividend."

Hutchison Telecom shares have fallen 26 percent this year, less than the 48 percent drop in Hang Seng Index.