China Mobile announces London HQ

China Mobile will use its new London base to grow its business in the European telecommunications market.

London is the best place for us to be as it is at the heart of technology convergence in Europe.

Henry Ge

Chief representative

China Mobile UK

The firm’s chief representative in the UK, Henry Ge, explained that the decision to move its European and African headquarters was influenced by the capital's strong technology market.

"London is the best place for us to be as it is at the heart of technology convergence in Europe, and offers us access to the technical capability and expert talent we need in order to grow our business," he commented.

China Mobile's move to London was supported by UK Trade & Investment and regional inward investment agency Think London.

Martin Charlton, chief executive of Think London, added: "The growing number of high-profile Chinese ICT companies such as China Mobile choosing to locate in London is proof that this multi billion pound technology sector presents huge opportunities for these investors.

China Mobile is the world's largest mobile operator in terms of subscriber numbers, providing 369.3 million people with telecoms services at the end of 2007.

This figure is expected to rise as the industry anticipates a billion new subscribers from developing countries will start using mobile phones by 2010.