Local handset manufacturers are set to gain more orders from foreign mobile-phone companies by the end of this year, an industry insider said yesterday.
"Recently, major foreign cellphone companies lowered their sales estimate for the year," said Peter Chiang (蔣培德), a telecom analyst at Topology Research Institute (拓墣產業研究).
"But in an effort to reduce production cost, these companies are more likely to place orders with Taiwan contractors."
Local handset makers, such as Companies like BenQ Corp (明基電通), Compal Communications Inc (華寶通訊), GVC Corp (致福) and Arima Communication Corp (華冠) -- who have already produced handsets for Motorola Inc and Sony Ericsson on a contract basis -- are expected to benefit, Chiang said.
Last year Taiwan exported about 29 million cellphones to the world market, according to the government-funded Market Intelligent Center.
Based on second-quarter financial reports released by Nokia, Motorola and Sony Ericsson last week, the estimated number of global mobile phones to be sold this year was revised downward to some 390 million units from previous 440 million units.
An industry professional said Taiwanese contractors can still gain order despite downturn.
"The global telecom industry entered a slump starting last year. Nevertheless, we began receiving more orders from foreign companies, and we expect the trend will continue," said Irwin Chen (
BenQ is the nation's largest mobile-phone maker. It shipped 7.5 million units in the first half, of which more than 70 percent were made exclusively for Motorola.
BenQ produced 6.8 million units last year and previously targeted 11 million units for this year, Chen said.
"With an increased number of orders, we will definitely surpass that target this year," Chen said.
Chiang said Nokia, the world's top cellphone company with more than 20 percent of the global market, is a large potential cash cow.
"Unlike Motorola and Sony Ericsson, Nokia hasn't yet tapped into Taiwanese OEMs. But as the telecom business continues to drop, Nokia may soon have no choice but to outsource production to lower costs," Chiang said.
Hon Hai Precision Industries Co (
"Hon Hai already produces cellphone covers and printed circuits for Nokia. It's very conceivable that this cooperative venture could soon be expanded," he said.
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