Ericsson, ZTE to Defy Slump on China, India Growth
Ericsson AB and ZTE Corp. are among phone-equipment makers that will be buffered against the global recession next year by expansion of wireless networks in India and China, according to industry executives.
“Every industry in the world is cutting, but here is one where you are seeing the commitment to see the spending continue,” said Craig Ehrlich, chairman of the GSM Association, which represents more than 700 carriers globally. Capital spending by mobile-phone companies in 2009 won’t decrease from a projected $142 billion this year, he said.
India and China, the world’s fastest-growing markets for wireless phones, will probably start third-generation services next year, driving investment in networks from companies including ZTE. The two countries, which have almost 1 billion mobile-phone users combined, will jointly add 160 million in 2009, according to Spanish bank Banco Santander SA.
“China and India are growing very strongly,” Magnus Furustam, a vice president at Stockholm-based Ericsson, said in an interview in Macau, where the GSM Association held its Mobile Asia Congress conference this week. “We are very positive about the evolution of this region.”
Ericsson, the world’s biggest maker of mobile-phone networks, may increase 2009 profit 19 percent to 16.4 billion kronor ($2 billion), according to the median of 29 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Tags: 3G, China-Mobile, China-Telecom, Ericsson, GSM, Huawei, Nokia, Siemens, ZTE