China Mobile looks to 4G to boost profit growth  

中移動“豪擲”逾400億加速4G商用

從50億元(人民幣，下同)到417億元，中移動這次要動“真格”了。集團董事長奚國華14日在香港業績會上宣布，今年會全力加速TD-LTE網絡的商用化進程，期望配合4G牌照的年底落實，迎接數據流量的爆發式增長。

Hong Kong (CNS) -- Altogether 41.7 billion yuan ($6.7 billion) will be spent on developing 4G technology this year, China Mobile said on Thursday in Hong Kong.

Xi Guohua, chairman of China Mobile, said capital spending will rise greatly, from 127.4 billion yuan in 2012 to 190.2 billion yuan this year, and 4G technology spending will increase by more than seven times, to 41.7 billion yuan.

The commercial deployment of LD-LTE will be accelerated, and 200,000 base stations will be built for the 4G network in 2013, an increase of tenfold from last year, Xi said. The government may issue licenses for 4G commercial service around the end of this year, he added.

China Mobile's net profit rose 2.7 percent last year to 129.3 billion yuan, which was slightly better than market expectations, but was facing slow growth, he said.

As the spread of voice messages threatens profits for calling and short message services,China Mobile is trying to attract customers to more profitable data services, according to Chief Executive Officer Li Yue.