China Mobile Ltd, the world's largest mobile operator by subscribers, posted a 6.3 percent rise in profit for the first half of the year, logging the fastest half-year growth since 2008, Reuters reported.

The carrier, which competes with China Unicom and China Telecom Corp Ltd in the world's biggest mobile phone market, reported a net profit of 61.3 billion yuan ($9.6 billion) for the six months ended June.

That was roughly in line with an average forecast of 59.8 billion yuan from seven analysts and up from 57.6 billion yuan a year earlier.

First-half growth was the fastest since an 18 percent increase in the second half of 2008.

China Mobile's average revenue per user (ARPU) per month in the first half was 70 yuan, up from 67 yuan in the first quarter.