Huawei Technologies, China's leading telecommunications equipment manufacturer, said Thursday the company's sales income was estimated at $17 billion for 2008.

Based on 2007 sales income, Huawei was ranked the world's fifth largest telecom equipment maker in terms of sales, said company vice president Xu Zhijun.

The projected sales income represented a 35-percent increase from that of 2007. The company's sales revenue jumped 48 percent year-on-year to $12.56 billion in 2007.

Xu also said contract sales were worth $23.3 billion in 2008, up 46 percent year-on-year from $16 billion in 2007 and slightly higher than the target of $23 billion.

About 75 percent of the 46-percent growth in contract sales came from overseas markets, said Xu. Huawei's contract sales increased 42 percent year-on-year in Europe and 58 percent in North America, he added.

"Apparently, the financial crisis has had a limited impact on Huawei," he told Xinhua. He explained that the company's major markets are with emerging economies, which are better sheltered from the financial crisis.

"The crisis could also mean more opportunities for the company, " he said.

He foresaw good prospects both home and abroad under the current economic downturn.

The world's major telecom operators would seek to reduce costs, and Huawei was very competitive in cost efficiency, he said.

Meanwhile, domestic users were unlikely to cut back on making calls, the main communication means, and companies may shun business trips for conference calls instead in order to cut costs, which would increase spending on telecom services, he said.

(Xinhua News Agency January 16, 2009)