Flagship Chinese telecoms equipment maker Alcatel Shanghai Bell (ASB) saw its overseas sales including exports double in the first 10 months of this year, a company executive said.

Overseas sales including exports already account for half of the firm's total revenues, said Gerard Dega, president of ASB.

ASB, launched in 2002, is a joint venture between communications giant Alcatel and the Chinese Government. Alcatel, which completed a merger with Lucent on November 30, owns 50 per cent plus a share in ASB, which is supervised by China's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC).

Dega attributed the surging overseas sales to Alcatel's sprawling business networks around the world as well as strong backing from the Chinese Government.

The ever-strengthening co-operation between the Chinese Government and developing countries has greatly benefited ASB's overseas expansions.

As a Chinese firm, ASB has secured some financial lines from the Chinese Government, which helped the firm win network equipment contracts in a number of countries such as Thailand, Laos and White Russia.

ASB's sales in China, including both the fixed-line and cellular network gear, also experienced robust sales during January-October, Dega said, without offering specific figures.

"The ever-growing number of mobile phone subscribers and a business transformation of fixed-line carriers are the two major drivers fuelling the telecoms equipment market in China this year," he said.

Mobile operators have been expanding their network capacity this year and ASB has grabbed many orders.

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