Nokia Group predicts that China will account for nearly a quarter of the estimated 1.3 billion new global mobile subscriptions. This would happen in the next five years. According to Nokia’s chairman, China is to become Nokia’s largest market in terms of sales during the next three years.

Nokia said that mobile subscriber growth in China is expected to almost double over the next five years. According to Nokia, this is because there is a strong replacement market in urban areas and that there are increasing users in rural regions. According to Nokia, the total global mobile subscriber base, which hit 1.7 billion at the end of 2004, will reach 3 billion by 2010, and nearly one quarter of the new subscriptions are expected to be in China.

Nokia is the number one player in the Chinese mobile equipment market, primarily due to the expansion in rural areas. Sales of Nokia handsets jumped 44 percent to US$3.6 billion in 2004 and China is the second largest market of Nokia’s sales. It was also the largest telecom exporter in China last year.

According to the CEO, Nokia is looking to maintain its leading position in China this year, expecting growth largely from expansions into non-urban areas and new launches of quality products. He further said that the expected rollout of 3G networks and related services also represent an opportunity to improve our position in the Chinese market.