Buoyed by stronger-than-expected pre-orders for the latest ZenFone 2, Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) last week moved forward the release date of ZenFone Laser in India and said it aims to secure a 5 percent market share in that nation next year.
The Taiwanese PC maker has sold more than 1.6 million units of its ZenFone series since it tapped into the Indian smartphone market in July last year, securing a 2 percent share in the Indian market.
“Asustek aims to sell 3 million handsets in India this year and achieve a 5 percent market share in the nation next year,” Asustek India managing director Peter Chang (張旗浚) said on Tuesday.
Asustek received more than 30,000 pre-orders for the ZenFone Laser in India after the phone was unveiled last month, Chang said.
The sales date of the ZenFone Laser in India was moved forward to Tuesday last week from a previously scheduled date of Saturday.
“Being a new entrant in the market, consumers have accepted the brand with such great enthusiasm that we had to reset the sales date of our latest offering,” Chang said.
India is among the fastest-growing smartphone markets among the emerging markets this year. International Data Corp (IDC) forecast a total of 109.44 million smartphones would be sold in India this year, jumping as much as 33.75 percent from last year’s 81.82 million units.
By comparison, China’s smartphone shipments this year would only grow 1.2 percent annually to 426.24 million units, IDC forecast.
South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co has the largest share of the Indian market, with 23 percent, followed by domestic company Micromax Informatics Ltd with 17 percent, IDC said.
Indian smartphone brands Intex Technologies Ltd and Lava International Ltd account for 11 percent and 7 percent in the market respectively, while China’s Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) has the fifth-biggest market share, IDC said.
To take advantage of the fast-growing market, Asustek has teamed with Indian e-commerce site Flipkart.com to sell its phones in 660 cities and dispatched more than 400 sales representatives in 120 direct stores, Chang said.
In July, the company also began working with Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) to make smartphones in India, he added.
Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp (宏達電) also seeks to capitalize on the rapidly growing Indian smartphone market. In April, it inked an agreement with Indian contract manufacturer Global Devices Network Co to make entry-level and mid-priced handsets in the nation, with production beginning in July.
HTC chief financial officer Chang Chia-lin (張嘉臨) in July told investors that the company had seen “tremendous” growth in shipments and sales in India, adding that sales and shipments grew 150 percent annually there in the first quarter of the year.
After several years flying high as Asia’s best Nvidia Corp proxy, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is increasingly vying with other artificial intelligence (AI) stocks for investor attention. Stock traders are chasing a wider array of beneficiaries as mainstream usage of AI creates demand for hardware beyond the most-advanced chips TSMC makes for Nvidia. Subthemes from the deepening memory crunch to advances in robotics are also luring bids. At the same time, investment caps on single stocks are pushing funds to diversify, while retail investors long familiar with TSMC through its US depositary receipts are being offered a broader set of
UNDER MICROSCOPE: Taiwan detained three people who allegedly conspired to buy servers in Taiwan and export them using fraudulent documentation, prosecutors said Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday urged Super Micro Computer Inc to tighten up on compliance after Taiwan detained three people this week for allegedly making fraudulent declarations about artificial intelligence (AI) servers made by its US partner. The development marked the nation’s first crackdown on semiconductor smuggling, which grew after the US slapped restrictions on exports of high-end chips such as Nvidia AI accelerators to China. Nvidia is “rigorous” in explaining regulations to all of its partners, Huang told reporters after arriving in Taipei. “Ultimately Super Micro has to run their own company,” he said in response to
TECH RELIANCE: Growth is increasingly reflecting an unequal K-shaped distribution, where technology sectors outperform and other industries struggle, an expert said Standard Chartered Bank has significantly raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth to 9.5 percent this year, up from 7.6 percent previously, citing surging artificial intelligence (AI) demand driving exports, semiconductor production and investment. The upgrade reflects a sustained AI supercycle that continues to fuel demand for advanced chips and technology infrastructure, which form the backbone of Taiwan’s exports, the bank said in a report this week. “We raise our 2026 growth forecast to reflect a much stronger-than-expected first-quarter GDP figure,” Standard Chartered senior economist for greater China and Asia Tommy Wu (胡東安) said in the report. Driven largely by a 35.3 percent
Two of Taiwan’s international carriers, Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空), have retained the five-star airline rating awarded by international airline review organization Skytrax. Starlux was awarded the distinction for a second consecutive year, while EVA Air received it for the 11th straight year, Skytrax said in statements released yesterday and on Thursday last week, respectively. The five-star rating is considered one of the airline industry's highest honors and is awarded following professional audits of airline product and frontline service standards, Skytrax said. The ratings are based on in-depth assessments using unified global quality standards rather than customer review scores
RSS