PCCW Ltd. Chairman Richard Li said his company hasn't decided on a separate listing of its pay- television unit, after Sing Tao Daily reported Hong Kong's biggest phone carrier is planning the spinoff.

PCCW has reached "no firm decisions" yet about listing its Now TV unit, Li said in a mobile-phone message today. The Hong Kong-based carrier is sure to spin off the subsidiary, the newspaper said, citing an unidentified company official.

Li, son of Hong Kong's richest man, has stepped up investments in media businesses as growth in PCCW's main phone operations slow. Now TV, vying with I-Cable Communications Ltd. for market leadership in Hong Kong, is targeting higher-spending subscribers to boost profitability after ending losses last year, according to media analyst Vivek Couto.

"Now TV has good penetration in the premium segment," said Couto, executive director at Hong Kong-based Media Partners Asia Ltd. The subsidiary will be able to raise more capital from a delayed listing if it can improve earnings further, he said.

PCCW rose 2.2 percent to HK$2.80 at the midday break in Hong Kong trading, poised for the highest close since Aug. 23. The city's benchmark Hang Seng Index gained 0.3 percent.

"From time to time, we do consider different proposals to maximize shareholders' value," Li said.

PCCW's TV division earned HK$43 million ($5.5 million) before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization in the first half, compared with a loss of HK$34 million a year earlier.

Li, the younger son of Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd. Chairman Li Ka-shing, invested in Hong Kong Economic Journal, a financial newspaper, in 2006, and started Cai Business In depth Ltd., a provider of financial news and data, last year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Lee in Hong Kong at wlee37@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anand Krishnamoorthy at anandk@bloomberg.net