L.M. Ericsson Telephone Co's (ERIC) $1.7 billion frame agreements with Chinese operators China Mobile and China Unicom are indicative of the strong growth on the country's telecom equipment market, the company's President of Greater China, Mats Olsson, said Wednesday.

The value of the deals is roughly the same size as Ericsson's entire sales to China in 2008, Olsson told Dow Jones Newswires, adding that "this reflects the growth we feel in China."

Under the agreements, announced earlier Wednesday, the Stockholm-based company will deliver both second-generation and third-generation mobile equipment and services to the operators, which in January were awarded 3G mobile phone business licenses from the Chinese authorities.

Olsson described the composition of the deals as favourable, noting that the Chinese operators are quickly adopting newer technology, like 3G.

Ericsson has already started delivery under the frame agreements, which will run for "a good part" of the remainder of 2009, Olsson said.

At 1406 GMT, shares in Ericsson were up 0.4% at SEK75.10, outperforming a flat overall market in Stockholm.

Company Web site: http://www.ericsson.com

-By Gustav Sandstrom, Dow Jones Newswires; +46-8-5451-3099; gustav.sandstrom@dowjones.com