(Nikkei BP Group)
(No.1 High-Tech News Site in Japanese)
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| Xiamen Company Makes China's First Mobile Phones
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January 22, 1999 (BEIJING) -- China's first mobile phones designed entirely
at home and manufactured by Xiamen Overseas Chinese Mobile Communication
Equipment Corp. in Xiamen were recently put on sale.
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Xiamen is in eastern China's Fujian province. Xiamen Overseas Chinese
Mobile Communication Equipment Corp. is a joint venture between Xiamen
Overseas Chinese Electronic Co., Ltd., a major exporter of color TV
sets, and the Guangzhou Communication Research Institute.
Guo Zeli, president of Xiamen Overseas Chinese Mobile Communication Equipment,
said that the new handset ranks with mid-range or top-range international
models. It is expected to be highly competitive in the Chinese market
because of its relatively low price, he added. The Huaxia No. 1 GSM
handset is priced at about half that of similar foreign-made handsets.
Guo predicted that the launch of the handset will trigger another round
of intense competition in China's mobile phone market.
By the end of 1998, the number of mobile phone users in China had topped
25 million, and sales of mobile communications services exceeded those
of local and long distance services.
The Ministry of Information Industry (MII) said that the number of cellular
phone users in China will likely grow to 40 million by 2000.
Several Chinese companies, including Dongfang Telecommunications and
Shenzhen Kejian, also have developed a range of commercial phones.
(Xinhua News Agency)
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