Friday, January 23, 2009
China's domestic wireless phone market is projected to grow by 7.7 percent in 2009, reaching 239.1 million units, despite an expected 10.7 percent decline in global handset shipments, according to market research firm iSuppli Corp.
Kevin Wang, senior manager of China research at iSuppli, said in a statement that China's wireless operators continue to attract new subscribers by reducing service fees, attracting first-time buyers and enticing existing customers to add a second number. New wireless subscribers in China are expected to exceed 90 million in 2009, he said.
"Beyond that, the government's broadened subsidy policy for consumer electronics purchases will stimulate demand in rural areas," Wang said.
Domestic authorized handset market shipments surpassed 180 million units in 2008, according to iSuppli, while the domestic "gray market"—the unofficial market which skirts regulatory authority—decreased to about 40 million units in 2008, down from more than 50 million units in 2007. A number of gray market suppliers became authorized brand-name companies, iSuppli said.
Foreign handset OEMs, led by Nokia, occupied 56 percent of China's handset market for 2008, iSuppli said. Tianyu will continue to be the leading Chinese brand in terms of domestic shipments, according to iSuppli.
The Chinese government is expected to finally issue 3G licenses in 2009, iSuppli said. But the firm does not expect domestic 3G handset shipments to increase dramatically during the year.
On Friday (Jan. 23) market research group Strategy Analytic said global mobile phone shipments fell by 10 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared with the same period in 2007, with just 295 million units shipped.
By: DocMemory
Copyright © 2023 CST, Inc. All Rights Reserved
|
