China Telecom reports profit increase

Largest Chinese fixed-line carrier to bank on smartphones for growth

HONG KONG - China Telecom Corp, the country's biggest fixed-line carrier, reported that second-quarter profit rose 12 percent as its mobile-phone unit increased the subscriber base by almost half.

Profit excluding gains from connection fees rose to 5.09 billion yuan ($796 million) in the three months ended June 30, from 4.54 billion yuan a year earlier, the Beijing-based company said in a statement on its website. That was in line with the 5.05-billion-yuan average of six analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg.