ZTE Corp<000063><763>, a leading telecommunications equipment manufacturer in China, expects its global handset shipments to jump 61% this year, to 50 million units.

The Chinese company's global handset shipments are targeted to reach 100 million units by 2010, said Xiong Hui, ZTE's vice president, adding that the company's global handset shipments for 2007 were 31 million units.

According to the official's statement during a business conference being held in Shenzhen, ZTE will keep on benefiting from mobile operators' increasing customization of handsets, which enhances and boosts differentiated services amid a fiercely competitive operating environment.

Newspaper reports said the company's 3G-oriented value-added services products and solutions have been deployed by AKTEL in Dhaka, Bangladesh's third biggest telecom operator. It has also inked a network deployment deal with Ethiopia Telecommunications Corp (ETC) to build a nationwide telecoms network in the African country.

ZTE has signed deals, or otherwise cooperated with, more than 500 telecom operators in over 135 countries and has accomplished large IP-based backbone networks in several countries, according to industry sources.

Source:China Knowledge