ZTE sees profits ramp up in 2017

ZTE Corp, a major telecom equipment market in China, posted a near 30 percent jump in profits during the first half of the year, on the back of rapid growth in network infrastructure and mobile device business.

The Hong Kong-listed company said on Tuesday based on preliminary figures, its profits for the first six months increased 29.9 percent year-on-year to 2.29 billion yuan ($339 million).

Its revenue jumped about 13 percent to 54 billion yuan.

ZTE attributed this surge to growth in operations, including wireless network, wireline network, and handsets with improvements in gross profit margins.

The company said its smartphone business is booming, as it ramps up efforts to explore overseas markets. Unlike most Chinese smartphone vendors which have limited presence in the United States, ZTE is very popular.

ZTE said last month it would invest 2 billion yuan ($294.8 million) in 5G research and development every year, in a move to gain a lead in the next-generation mobile communication technology.