Mobile phone in Asia surges

Mobile phone in Asia surges

SINGAPORE (AFP): Mobile phone ownership in Asia has surged
with young adults driving the boom, despite the regional economic
crisis which dampened consumer spending, according to a poll
released here Wednesday.

Ownership in seven economies surveyed jumped between 30 and 70
percent in the year to last April, with Hong Kong leading the
surge, according to Asian Market Intelligence AsiaBUS (AMI) which
conducted the survey.

The survey covered 1,000 adults each in China, Hong Kong,
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan, the
Hong Kong-based AMI said.

Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines each experienced a 30
to 40 percent rise in mobile phone ownership over the period,
while Indonesia, the hardest hit by the crisis, saw a rise of two
percent.

Young adults, those aged 18 to 30, are the main drivers of
growth in mobile phone ownership, AMI said.