MOBILE phone sales in the Asia Pacific region excluding Japan is expected to grow an annual 10 per cent to more than 400 million units in 2008, fuelled by China and India, an industry report said on Wednesday.

Mobile phone sales in 2007 totalled 366 million units, IDC said in a report.

China and India, which together accounted for over 60 percent of regional demand, still offer much room for growth despite the huge jump in mobile phone users, it said.

'The twin engines of this growth are India and the PRC (People's Republic of China), which together commanded more than 60 per cent of shipments in the region,' said IDC analyst Aloysius Choong.

He said mobile phone sales in India should grow by 19 per cent this year.

On the vendor side, Finnish telecom giant Nokia remained the dominant leader with market share of over 50 per cent last year, up from 42 per cent in 2006, said IDC.

Trailing in second place was South Korea's Samsung with 12.1 per cent, followed by Motorola at 8.3 per cent, Sony Ericsson 6.9 per cent and LG took fourth spot with 5.2 per cent.

'Nokia is poised for continued success in the market, thanks to its strong brand, broad portfolio and uncompromising execution,' said Melissa Chau, IDC's associate market analyst for personal systems research. -- AFP

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