ITU Telecom World 2006, billed as the "Olympics" of the global communications industry, will start in Hong Kong today.

More than 600 companies will showcase their latest technologies and gadgets at the event, making it one of the largest trade fairs ever to be held in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) estimates the show will attract about 60,000 visitors.

It is the first time for ITU Telecom World to be held outside Geneva since the show was created more than 30 years ago by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the telecommunication agency of the United Nations.

Donald Tsang, Chief Executive of HKSAR, said Hong Kong, as one of the world's freest economies and a global hub for the ICT (information and communications technologies), is attracting the world's major communications companies such as Motorola, Cisco Systems and NTT DoCoMo.

According to Ministry of Information Industry (MII) deputy chief Jiang Yaoping, more than 200 Chinese companies including those from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan will attend, the largest number in the history of the triennial show.

ITU Telecom World will help countries and governments strengthen communication and co-operation in the ICT sector. It will also help Chinese companies expand their operations outside China, said Jiang in a group interview with Chinese media.

Chinese ICT companies have been making a significant dent in overseas markets in recent years. For instance, overseas sales already account for more than half of the annual revenues of Huawei Technologies, the top Chinese telecoms equipment maker.

Exports of ICT-related products from China last year exceeded US$260 billion, accounting for more than one third of the country's total exports.

Operators such as China Mobile and China Unicom are also exploring merger and acquisition opportunities in new markets.

China Mobile has acquired Peoples Telephone, a small telecoms operator in Hong Kong, while China Unicom has secured a licence to provide cellular services in Macao. These moves are seen as the two operators' first tentative steps to expand their services outside the Chinese mainland.

"We are continuing to seek more investment opportunities in overseas markets," Li Zhengmao, vice-president of China Unicom, told China Daily.

"Although the domestic market remains lucrative, Chinese operators would be put in an disadvantageous position if they cannot become strong multinational corporations."

China had 123 million Internet users and 819 million telephone users by October, including 370 million fixed-line telephone users and 449 million mobile phone subscribers.

"By 2010, we expect the number of Internet users and telephone users to hit 200 million and 1 billion respectively," Jiang said.

The vice-minister also estimated that China's ICT sector will account for 10 per cent of China's gross domestic product (GDP) by 2010.

Source: China Daily