China Mobile says net profit rises 32 per cent on strong subscriber growth in 2007

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SHANGHAI - China Mobile Ltd., China's dominant mobile phone carrier, says 2007 profit rose 32 per cent on rapid growth in its subscriber base.

The Beijing-based company reported net profit of 87.1 billion yuan (US$2.4 billion), up from 66 billion yuan in 2006.

Revenues rose 21 per cent to 356.98 billion yuan ($51 billion) during the year, up from 295.4 billion yuan.

China Mobile said the number of its subscribers climbed 23 per cent to total 360 million.

Nearly half of all new customers were from China's populous countryside.

Value-added services such as wireless and text messaging were other key growth areas.

China has the world's largest number of mobile phone users.

The number of Chinese mobile phone subscribers is expected to exceed 600 million by 2010.

© The Canadian Press, 2008