业绩符合预期，派息将保持高增，“买入”

Investment Rating - The report maintains a "Buy" investment rating for China Unicom with a target price of HK$7.66 [2][3][7] Core Views - The company is expected to see steady earnings growth and strong dividends, with service revenue and net profit for 2023 reaching RMB 335.2 billion (up 5.0% YoY) and RMB 18.7 billion (up 11.8% YoY), respectively [2][7] - The report anticipates that the dividend payout ratio will continue to increase, projecting a payout ratio of approximately 60% in 2024, with further increases in 2025 and 2026 [2][7] - China Unicom is positioned to benefit significantly from the data services market, with its data services revenue growing by 32% YoY to RMB 5.3 billion in 2023 [2][8] Summary by Sections Financial Performance - For 2023, China Unicom's service revenue was RMB 335.2 billion, and net profit was RMB 18.7 billion, aligning with market expectations [2][7] - The projected earnings per share (EPS) for 2024-2026 are RMB 0.694, RMB 0.761, and RMB 0.827, respectively [2][7] - The company’s dividend per share (DPS) is expected to yield 6.0%, 7.1%, and 8.3% for 2024-2026 [7] Market Opportunities - The telecommunications sector has inherent advantages in data sourcing, with China Unicom expected to invest RMB 10 billion in computing power by 2024 [2][8] - The data services market is projected to grow significantly, with the market size expected to reach RMB 200 billion by 2030 [2][8] - China Unicom is the first telecom operator in China to implement centralized data operations, which positions it well to capitalize on the expanding data services market [2][8] Strategic Initiatives - The company plans to deepen its involvement in the data services market, leveraging its extensive data resources and operational experience to create vertical-specific data products and services [2][8] - The report identifies catalysts for growth, including increasing dividend rates and promoting commercial data-related businesses [2][8]