AT&T Inc, the top US phone operator, aims to maintain double-digit growth in the Chinese market in the next few years, driven by the country's robust economy, a company executive said.

The US phone company posted 32 percent year-on-year revenue growth in China in 2006, according to Sainti Li, general manager of AT&T Greater China Group.

But Li declined to reveal the specific revenue figures.

"We want to maintain the strong momentum and achieve double-digit growth in the (Chinese) market this year and in the next few years," Li said.

"We are confident growth on the Chinese mainland will be much faster than for the whole China, which also includes more mature markets such as Hong Kong and Taiwan," Li said.

"Demand from multinational companies for Internet-based telephone services and other communications services are seeing strong growth in China," Li said.

The company has secured more than 300 customers in China, most of which are multinationals doing business in the country.

As the outlook of the Chinese economy remains strong, Li said, many global firms are expected to come to China in the future, which may boost AT&T's business.

"And we are following our customers," he said.

The US phone company's revenue in the Asia-Pacific region surged 30 percent in 2006 on the previous year, making it AT&T's fastest-growing market.

China currently accounts for 31 percent of the company's total revenue in the Asia-Pacific region excluding Japan.

The US firm unveiled a plan to invest more than $750 million in 2007 to drive its business growth, which will mainly go to expanding its global communications network for corporate customers.

But Li did not say how much the US phone operator would invest in China this year.

"We have already made considerable investment in China," Li said. In 2001, AT&T and China Telecom established Unisiti, a local telecom operator in Shanghai, becoming China's first joint-venture telecom firm.

(China Daily March 28, 2007)