China Mobile third quarter profit flat at 29.65bln yuan

China has low mobile penetration compared to developed economies that stifles growth of its telecommunication companies.

China Mobile, the world's biggest mobile operator by subscribers, reported a 3.5 percent rise in quarterly earnings, matching expectations, as a maturing market and intense competition eat into its profits.

The results could set the tone for rivals China Unicom and China Telecom, who are also expected to post flat or a fall in profits when they report results next week.

China Mobile reported July-September net profit of 29.65 billion yuan ($4.45 billion), based on Reuters calculations using company data, matching an average forecast of 29.6 billion yuan from five analysts polled by Reuters and up from 28.64 billion yuan a year ago.

"As a result of the increasing penetration rate of mobile telecommunications and the changes in the competition environment of the telecommunications industry, the group's customer growth showed signs of slowing down," the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

View the full story in Reuters.