The smartphone market is showing signs of recovery, as production volume increased 10.5 percent on a quarterly basis to 344 million units last quarter, market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday in a report.
However, the volume decreased 2.4 percent annually due to lingering uncertainties in the international market, TrendForce said.
Samsung Electronics Co retained its top place with a production volume of 76.5 million units, the best single-quarter performance since last year, while Huawei Technologies Co (華為) continued to suffer from US sanctions, with output declining 13 percent quarterly to 52.5 million units, ending a five-quarter growth streak, the report showed.
Although the US government has delayed tariffs on US$300 billion of Chinese goods, including smartphones, until December, Huawei is still on a blacklist and would continue to see its effects on overseas sales this quarter, TrendForce said.
The Chinese smartphone giant’s production performance might also be affected if it cannot remedy a restriction barring it from the Android operating system, the research firm said.
Apple Inc came in third after its production volume declined to the lowest since 2015 at 38.8 million units, the report said.
TrendForce attributed the weak performance to high prices for iPhones and a lack of innovation, which discouraged customers from purchasing new devices, as well as declining sales in China due to the US-China trade dispute.
As new US tariffs loom, Apple might see its profit further compromised in the short term as it struggles to relocate its iPhone production plants in China, TrendForce said.
Despite intensified competition in the domestic and foreign markets, Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp (歐珀), Xiaomi Corp (小米) and Vivo Communication Technology Co (維沃) took fourth, fifth and sixth places respectively, the report said.
OPPO witnessed a boost in its Southeast Asian sales as its production volume last quarter increased to 35 million units, while Xiaomi remained flat at 30.8 million units, with shipments equally divided among the Chinese, Indian and other markets, it said.
As the trade dispute remains unresolved and trade frictions between Japan and South Korea intensify, the traditional peak season for the smartphone market in the second half of the year might be whittled down, TrendForce said.
Global smartphone production volume is predicted to reach 363 million units this quarter and end this year with 1.38 billion units, down 5 percent annually, the report said.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
‘IMMENSE SWAY’: The top 50 companies, based on market cap, shape everything from technology to consumer trends, advisory firm Visual Capitalist said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) was ranked the 10th-most valuable company globally this year, market information advisory firm Visual Capitalist said. TSMC sat on a market cap of about US$915 billion as of Monday last week, making it the 10th-most valuable company in the world and No. 1 in Asia, the publisher said in its “50 Most Valuable Companies in the World” list. Visual Capitalist described TSMC as the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry operator that rolls out chips for major tech names such as US consumer electronics brand Apple Inc, and artificial intelligence (AI) chip designers Nvidia Corp and Advanced
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
RSS