A shortage of multichip package (MCP) memory chips for budget smartphones is expected to cut smartphone shipments from China’s major handset vendors next quarter, a local researcher said.
That would also impact on Chinese handset vendors’ chip suppliers, including Taiwan’s MediaTek Inc (聯發科), Taipei-based research house TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said in a report on Tuesday.
MediaTek could face lower shipments next quarter as Chinese smartphone makers rely on the Taiwanese firm’s chip reference designs to produce handsets, which are mostly equipped with Samsung Electronics Co’s embedded multichip package (eMCP) memory, TrendForce said.
The report attributed the tight supply of eMCP memory to the sharp increase in demand for Samsung’s own-brand smartphones.
“Since Samsung accounts for more than 60 percent of the overall MCP market, its decision to reduce supply of MCPs will also affect MediaTek’s shipments to its Chinese handset customers,” the report said.
MediaTek is forecast to ship 80 percent of its chips to Chinese clients, including Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想), Huawei Technology Co (華為), ZTE Inc (中興) and Coolpad (酷派), and account for 50 percent of China’s handset chip market this year.
The shortage of MCPs could also affect flat-panel suppliers and other key component suppliers, TrendForce said.
Meanwhile, Daiwa Capital Markets predicted that smartphone shipments could grow just 25 percent sequentially this quarter because of the DRAM and MCP shortage.
Daiwa on Wednesday forecast that the shortage, which began at the end of last month, would persist through the first half of this year.
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