APT Satellite Holdings Limited is a Bermuda-incorporated holding company. Its Hong Kong-incorporated subsidiary APT Satellite Co., Ltd. is the operator of the Apstar satellite constellation. APT Satellite Holdings and APT Satellite are headquartered in Hong Kong.
As at 30 June 2016 the company had a market capitalisation of HK$3.816 billion. It is a red chip company,[1] as it was an overseas incorporated company, but controlled by the Chinese Government indirectly (via China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation). Fellow Hong Kong–based satellite company AsiaSat was also partially owned by the Chinese Government (via CITIC Group), but belongs to a different department of the State Council.
History
The establishment of APT Satellite Company Limited was officially approved by the State Council of the People's Republic of China on 26 March 1992,[2] the company's incorporation on 21 January 1992 as Free Union Limited, renaming to Trans-Asia-Pacific Satellite Communications Co., Ltd. on 10 March, then APT Satellite Co., Ltd. on 15 April 1992.