SK Telecom, South Korea's largest mobile phone carrier by revenue, Wednesday said it hasn't approached China Telecom Corp. to buy a stake in the Chinese company.

 "The report is not true. We haven't contacted China Telecom, nor are we in talks with it," said SK Telecom spokeswoman Mina Ryu.

China's Oriental Morning Post reported on its Web site late Tuesday that Qualcomm, Singapore Telecommunications and SK Telecom are among possible strategic investors in China Telecom.

The report cited an unnamed source as saying that Qualcomm is already in talks with China Telecom on taking a stake, while SingTel and SK Telecom have both "extended an olive branch" to the carrier.

SingTel and Qualcomm declined to comment on the matter Wednesday.

SK Telecom, which has a stake in China Unicom Ltd. (CHU), has said it is seeking to widen its partnership with Chinese telecommunications companies in the wake of the recent telecommunications industry shakeup in China.

Source: Dow Jones Newswires