PCCWbecame the latest high-profile Asian company to abandon plans to sell a significant stake in one of its key business units in the wake of last week's world stock market crash.

After an emergency board meeting yesterday, Hong Kong's dominant telecommunications operator said that the market downturn had "significantly impacted" the offers received for a 45 per cent stake in HKT, a newly created holding group for most of its core fixed-line, broadband and television assets.