NEW YORK - China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd said on Sunday it would buy back a 3.8 percent stake held by SK Telecom Co Ltd , South Korea's biggest mobile carrier, for about HK$10 billion (S$1.82 billion).

Under a conditional, irrevocable offer, SKT will sell its 899.75 million China Unicom shares for HK$11.105 per share, the Chinese mobile carrier said.

"After the share repurchase, China Unicom will be pleased to maintain the sound cooperation partnership with SKT," China Unicom Chairman Chang Xiaobing said in a statement.

The repurchased shares will be canceled and the total shares of China Unicom will be reduced to about 22.868 billion from 23.768 billion, it said.