DoCoMo undecided on overseas listing

DoCoMo expects to begin commercial 3G mobile services in October this year

TOKYO, Japan -- Japan's largest mobile operator NTT DoCoMo Inc said on Thursday it is considering listing the company overseas but nothing has yet been decided.

This follows a media report that it planned to list on the New York Stock Exchange in September.

Shares in DoCoMo, the largest company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by market capitalization, were about 2 percent higher at 2.09 million yen at midday Thursday, after the report appeared in the Financial Times.

DoCoMo has previously expressed interest in listing overseas. This would help its expansion plans and finance the rollout of its third-generation (3G) mobile phone network scheduled for October.

I-mode service exceeds 24 million subscribers

DoCoMo's hugely popular i-mode mobile phone service, which offers one-touch Internet access and is a precursor to full 3G services, has more than 24.3 million subscribers.

In Feburary, DoCoMo issued a record 800 billion yen ($6.56 billion) in new shares to partly finance its $9.8 billion yen investment in AT&T Wireless Group.

But because of the feeble stock market conditions, DoCoMo has also turned to the debt market three times this year, raising a total 380 billion yen.

DoCoMo president Keiji Tachikawa has said that a global stock offering, either in London or New York, was not likely before March 2002 but that an offering could be done earlier if funding were needed.

Part of NTT's stake could be sold

The Financial Times report said that DoCoMo is not expected to issue new shares when it lists in New York. Instead, a portion of the 64.05 percent in stock held by parent Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp could be sold.

The move will also help DoCoMo raise its profile in the U.S. market where it plans a mobile Internet service with AT&T Wireless similar to its i-mode service in Japan, it said.

Reuters contributed to this report.