According to a new report from Beijing-based research firm Analysys International , the TD-SCDMA equipment market reached RMB 7.2 billion ($947.4 million) during the second quarter as Netcom, China Telecommunications Corp. (NYSE: CHA - message board), and China Mobile Communications Corp. expanded their deployments. (See TD-SCDMA Approaches $1B.)

    ZTE Corp. (Shenzhen: 000063 - message board; Hong Kong: 0763) leads the market with a 45.8 percent share; Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co. Ltd. comes in second with 27.2 percent; and 14.9 percent goes to TD-Tech, a joint venture between Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and Nokia Siemens Networks . The rest of the market is split into small shares for Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC - message board), FiberHome Mobile Communications, and others.

    Meanwhile, China Daily reports that PICC Asset Management Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of People's Insurance Company (Group) of China (PICC), is set to take a 15 percent stake in Datang Mobile this week for RMB1.5 billion ($197.4 million) in anticipation of high returns once the 3G market gets going. Datang Mobile and partner Alcatel Shanghai Bell Co. Ltd. scored a large chunk of China Mobile's $3 billion 3G equipment order during the first quarter. (See China Mobile 3G Contracts Awarded.)

    Service providers from the greater Asia/Pacific region are also looking to get in on the action, and China Unicom Ltd. (NYSE: CHU - message board) announced Tuesday that South Korea's largest operator SK Telecom (Nasdaq: SKM - message board) exercised an option to convert $1 billion worth of bonds it held in the carrier into shares, giving it a 6.61 percent stake. SK is now the second largest shareholder in the company and gets a seat on the board. A statement from Unicom said the move "will further consolidate the strategic alliance between the two parties. It also deepens the cooperation of the Company and SKT in mobile communications." (See SK Buys Unicom Shares.)