25 September 2008, Shenzhen, China - ZTE Corporation (“ZTE”), a leading global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions, today hosted a historic reception attended by top government officials, valuable business partners as well as international and local media to celebrate another corporate milestone – reaching remarkable sales record of 100 million handsets. The occasion aptly billed by the company as ‘100 Millionth Handset Ceremony’ was held in Shenzhen, with ZTE top executives including Mr. Hou Weigui, Chairman of ZTE Corporation and Mr. He Shiyou, Executive Vice President of ZTE Corporation gracing the event to share the moment with their key stakeholders. 

Over the last six years, ZTE has transformed to become one of the most formidable phone manufacturers not only in China but as well as the international market. It started selling its homegrown handsets on large-scale basis in 2002, with initial output reaching 1.8 million units, and by 2004, ZTE has been making 11 million units of mobile phones. To sustain the momentum and keep pace with stiff competition in the global handset arena, ZTE adopted handset business strategy from 2005 and opted to collaborate with global telecom carriers and service providers to further expand its global reach.

“To reach a remarkable record of achieving one hundred million handset sales in the handset business is truly a stunning feat. This accomplishment is attributed to our advanced telecom technologies and expertise to meet the requirements of our valuable business partners who are mostly among the leading telecom carriers and providers in global arena. No doubt, ZTE will continuously play a significant role in the global handset market in the next five years,” said Mr. Hou Weigui, Chairman of ZTE Corporation.

ZTE has been creating impressive waves in the telecom industry worldwide, establishing close partnerships with well-known telecom carriers such as Vodafone, Hutchison Whampoa and Telefonica to further develop its businesses in high-end markets including Europe, North America and Japan.

“This outstanding achievement is far more than just a sales figure, but rather a significant proof of our successful strategic business goal of forging a win-win situation with our global telecom partners, and meeting the ever-changing requirements of today’s demanding mobile phone users. We are indeed proud to reach this corporate milestone that we want to share with our major stakeholders,” said Mr. He Shiyou, Executive Vice President of ZTE Corporation.

According to Frost & Sullivan, handset users in Asia’s emerging markets will reach 573 million by 2012. On the other hand, Gartner predicts mobile phone sales in Asia Pacific will continue to rapidly grow, reaching 828.7 million units by 2012.  In line with these trends and to capture higher market share, ZTE has been establishing strategic global partnerships and significantly investing in R&D. The company is now ranked the 6^th largest mobile handset manufacturer worldwide in terms of global shipment and is confident to further expand its international business footprint in the years to come.

As one of the global major telecom device manufacturers, ZTE is continuously developing and inventing new handset technologies. It has the most technological invention patents among handset makers in China.  As of May 2008, ZTE has obtained 1,587 handset patent applications and 106 international patents.