It would supply networking equipment for both mobile phone and fixed-line services and optical transmission to the Indian phone company, HFCL Infotel Ltd., Chen Lian, Huawei's chief operating officer, said in a statement Monday.

Shenzhen-based Huawei is China's largest telecommunication equipment maker, followed by ZTE Corp., which is also based in Shenzhen and has A and H shares listed in Shenzhen and Hong Kong respectively.

The unlisted Huawei employs 24,000 people, including 800 in India and its revenue reached US$5.6 billion last year.

Monday's announcement coincided with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to India. India and China have vowed to boost bilateral trade to US$20 billion by 2008 from US$13.6 billion last year.

Under the contract, Huawei will supply equipment for HFCL's phone networks in the northern states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu-Kashmir.

Mobile phone services started in India, which has nearly 100 million phone users, in 1995, but were banned in Jammu-Kashmir state where the government feared that separatist militants might use them to plan attacks on India's armed forces. However, mobile services were introduced in Jammu-Kashmir state in August 2003.

(Shenzhen Daily April 13, 2005)