File photo of China Unicom exhibiting at an expo of Internet of Things in Shanghai. [Jing Wei / Asianewsphoto]

The country's major network operators including China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom denied knowledge of any merger plans on Thursday amid market speculations that pushed their stocks high.

Chinese industry magazine Mobile Info posted news on Thursday on its official microblog that claimed that China Telecom will merge with China Unicom, and China Mobile with Broadcast TV Network.

"The company hasn't heard of it and will not comment," said a spokesman of China Unicom to China Daily.

China Mobile and China Telecom also denied any merger plan in a written statement to the press.

China Unicom surged 8.4 percent, and Broadcast TV Network 6.3 percent on Thursday. China Telecom gained 2.3 percent at Hong Kong exchange as of 3 pm.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology denied the rumor, adding that there was no such plan in the telecom sector, according to CCTV.