The Massive Chinese Market Matures.(cellular phones)

Growth in the world's largest cellular market slowed considerably in 2003, as the market matured. While adding nearly 30% more customers would be considered a great year for mobile network operators in many countries, that's a comedown for the Chinese market, which had seen growth rates of 50%-plus in the past.

Nationwide penetration of mobile handsets of just under 20% at year-end is low compared with Western Europe and such urbanized Asian markets as Taiwan, Singapore and the Chinese special district of Hong Kong, which are saturated. But some analysts predict the massive and still largely rural Chinese market may not get above 30% to 40% penetration over the next …