May 7 (Bloomberg) -- America Movil SAB, the wireless carrier controlled by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, will start selling Apple Inc.'s iPhone in 16 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean this year.

America Movil will sell the iPhone in countries such as Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Chile, spokeswoman Luisa Fernanda White said today in an e-mail.

The agreement may boost America Movil's market share and help the company compete with Telefonica SA in the market for phones that play music and surf the Web, said Omar Salvador, a telecommunications analyst with Pyramid Research Group in Boston. Mexico City-based America Movil, Latin America's largest wireless-service provider, reported a quarterly drop in profit last month as calling prices declined.

``Consumers were already using iPhones from other countries,'' Salvador said in an interview. ``Distribution of the iPhone will be very strategic for America Movil.''

For Apple, the agreement builds on Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs's plan to expand sales in new markets. Vodafone Group Plc, the world's largest mobile-phone company, said yesterday that it will sell the iPhone in 10 new markets, including Australia, India and Italy. Last week, Rogers Communications Inc. said it would introduce the iPhone in Canada this year.

Shares Fall

America Movil fell 31 centavos to 30.58 pesos at 4:10 p.m. New York time in Mexico City trading. The shares have lost 8.7 percent this year. Apple, based in Cupertino, California, fell $4.07 to $182.59 on the Nasdaq Stock Market and have declined 7.8 percent this year.

``We're excited to be working with America Movil to bring the iPhone to Latin America,'' Apple spokeswoman Jennifer Bowcock said in a phone interview.

The agreement won't significantly increase iPhone sales in Latin America because most people in the region who can afford the device already have one, said Wally Swain, an analyst with Boston-based Yankee Group, a technology consulting firm.

Most of the iPhones used in Latin America are brought in from the U.S. and unlocked to work with wireless carriers in the region, Swain said. AT&T Inc. sells the iPhone exclusively in the U.S.

America Movil has about 37 percent of the wireless market in Latin America, compared with Telefonica's 26 percent, Salvador said. In March, Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo reported that Telefonica was in talks with Apple to sell iPhones in Latin America.

To contact the reporter on this story: Hugh Collins in Mexico City at hcollins8@bloomberg.netValerie Rota in Mexico City at vrota1@bloomberg.net;

Last Updated: May 7, 2008 16:38 EDT