The number of mobile phone subscribers in Hong Kong has hit a new high of 5.77 million - equivalent to 85.8 per cent of the population - just six months after the territory saw its first fall in ownership rates.
Parents buying phones for increasingly younger children, a rise in the number of pre-paid SIM cards being sold and growing optimism over the economy are fuelling the increase.
The number of subscribers rose to 5.77 million in March, up from 5.64 million in October when there was a drop from 5.65 million the previous month, figures from the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (Ofta) show. Hong Kong's population is 6.72 million.
The fall was significant for Hong Kong because since the late 1990s it has boasted one of the world's most highly penetrated markets, with one survey suggesting 98 per cent of people aged 20-29 own a handset.
The biggest single factor in the latest rise has been new users buying pre-paid SIM cards, which increased from 1.39 million in October to 1.52 million in March.
An improved economic outlook, with the International Monetary Fund giving a growth forecast of 1.5 per cent for this year, and a rise in population of one per cent a year were also factors.
Nomura International telecoms analyst Richard Ferguson said: 'Unemployment figures are going up and September 11 may have had a little impact [on the initial decline in mobile phones]. But now people are realising the economy is not quite as bad as people thought last year.'
