Increased spending in developing the rural market was widely believed to have slowed the earnings growth of China Mobile, the world's biggest wireless carrier, in the fourth quarter of 2008.

The company yesterday posted a net profit of 30.2 billion yuan for the fourth-quarter of 2008, up 11 percent from a year earlier period, the slowest in four years. Sales increased 13 percent year-on-year in the same period to 110.95 billion yuan.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, a measure of operating profitability, rose 12 percent to 216.5 billion yuan over the 12 months ended December.