In 2008, Huawei continued to achieve steady growth, with global sales exceeding USD23.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 46%. Our internationalization efforts continued to show success and markets outside of China now account for over 75% of our total sales. Our major products are widely deployed by leading operators in Europe and Japan and we continue to make steady progress in North America. In emerging markets, our products are finding increasingly wider acceptance and we continue to expand and gain market strength in these important regions.
Over the years, Huawei has grown into a true market leader, gaining recognition and trust from an increasing number of leading operators. Credit for this success, is due to our customers, partners and our dedicated employees and we thank them for their support and confidence in Huawei.
In the current global economic situation, the telecom sector is facing many uncertainties. However, we believe that the global telecom industry will continue to experience dynamic growth over the longer term because communication is a basic human need and telecommunications has become integrated into the daily life of billions of people. New growth in this sector will be driven by the continued demands for mobile broadband in mature markets, together with the fast-growing user requirements for easy access to telecommunication's services in emerging markets.
Driven by rapid technological evolution and emerging user demands, the boundary between telecom, the Internet, software solutions, digital and consumers is becoming blurred, resulting in the advent of a new era---a "networked world". In the next few years, the number of mobile users is projected to exceed five billion, while over two billion fixed and mobile broadband users will be tapping into new services that are being enabled by the ubiquitous broadband technology. These billions of users, and the content that they develop and consume, will have a huge impact on the current networks of operators around the world.
In the future, the availability of networks with low Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and innovative services which increase revenue will be the key to addressing the rapidly changing challenges of operators. Our commitment to our customers and our position as a trusted partner will enable operators to break bottlenecks in broadband and offer users ubiquitous, consistent broadband experiences. Our All-IP-based Fixed-Mobile Convergence (FMC) solutions will enable operators to substantially reduce TCO while protecting their initial investments. In emerging markets, operators will be able to get a head-start advantage from our targeted solutions and service models. We are already working with our customers to assist them in strengthening their competitiveness and reducing their energy costs, while enhancing end-user experiences and generating increased revenue through the use of innovative services.
Our customers' success will continue to drive Huawei's growth as a leading global supplier. In 2009, we believe that Huawei will maintain our pace of steady growth and this will be driven mainly by 3G network deployments in emerging markets, including the Asia-Pacific region, and particularly in China. In North America and Europe, our consolidated partnership with leading operators will also generate new growth opportunities. Overall, the increasing recognition of Huawei's unique values will strengthen our strategic partnerships with leading operators and it will be a foundation for our future success.
Huawei's development over the past 20 years has taught us that only through the success of our customers can we succeed. It is for this reason that we will continue to optimize our organization and processes and promote management efficiency. By promoting a value of "customers first", we will continue to strive to meet customer needs with premium products and services. In partnership with our customers, every Huawei employee is dedicated to constructing a truly networked world, one that enriches people's lives through communication.
Huawei Executive Management Team (Huawei EMT)
