Gome Electrical Appliances Group aims to sell 10 percent of mobile phones in China this year after it established a new telecommunications unit two months ago and acquired rivals such as Dazhong Electronics, China's No. 1 home appliance vendor said yesterday in Shanghai.

Gome Mobile, the newly launched unit, plans to sell 18 million cell phones this year. The Gome Mobile's revenue will account for 15 percent of the company's total revenue in 2008, Sun Yiding, Gome's vice president said.

In 2007, Gome sold 10 million mobile phones in the domestic market.

China's total mobile phone sales are expected to reach 189 million units in 2008 compared with 150 million last year, according to Beijing-based research firm CCID Consulting.

"We will continue to use the merger and acquisition strategy, especially handset chain retail stores. We plan to open 500 new stores this year," Sun told Shanghai Daily at the launch of Dopod Communication Corp's new phones.

Gome will also strengthen partnership with the phone vendors, such as Dopod, according to Sun.

Gome, ahead of arch rival Suning, acquired Beijing-based Dazhong recently. It also purchased Shanghai-based Yongle previously.

Yesterday, Shanghai-based Dopod launched two new phones including a flagship model P860 with a touch-screen and built-in GPS, costing 7,480 yuan (US$1,024).

The firm aims to launch its first 3G phone by the middle of this year, Paul Hsu, Dopod's chief operation officer, said.

(Shanghai Daily January 10, 2008)