Company to watch: china mobile/china
Hong Kong-based China Mobile is the largest mobile telecom services provider in China, with more than 300 million subscribers and a market share of 67.5%. In June the company placed a $1 billion order with Sweden-based Ericsson for equipment and services to expand GSM coverage in 19 regions of China.
The new equipment will enable China Mobile to boost its network capacity and performance for hundreds of millions of subscribers. Less than 30% of the population of China has a cell phone, leaving plenty of opportunity for the company to gain new subscribers. The market is growing at a rate of about 5 million a month.
In January China Mobile purchased an 89% stake in Pakistan-based mobile operator Paktel from Luxembourg-based Millicom International Cellular, a company that provides cell phone services in emerging markets worldwide.
Meanwhile, China Mobile’s parent, China Mobile Communications, placed $310 million of orders in April with Shenzhen-based ZTE to build a high-speed wireless network. ZTE is China’s biggest publicly listed telephone equipment maker. China Mobile and Google have signed a cooperation agreement to provide mobile Internet search products and services in China.
Gordon Platt
