Vodafone no longer market leader

VODAFONE was yesterday facing up to life without the title of the world’s largest mobile phone company.

The Newbury-based group has lost its crown to China Mobile, a company which was only set up in 2000 and now has a market value of £69.7 billion (€103bn), against £57.9 billion (€86bn) for Vodafone.

The change in the world order came last week after Vodafone shares lost 6% of their value and China Mobile extended recent gains, which have lifted its Hong Kong-listed share price by 46% over the past year.