Mainland China and Taiwan combined accounted for 28 percent of the worldwide shipments of 2.5G and 3G phones in 2005. The aggregate shipments of 2.5G and 3G phones from both supply markets reached 207.36 million units in 2005. Worldwide shipments for the same year totaled 750 million units, based on data from Taiwan's Market Intelligence Center.
Mainland China is a major manufacturing base for mobile phones, contributing more than 35 percent to the worldwide handset supply. Although mainland makers have been positioning their products at the low end markets since early 2000, there is now a marked shift toward advanced mobile phone technologies.
Taiwan makers have been actively engaged in OEM and ODM partnerships with international mobile phone companies. Some of the key trends observed in Greater China's 2.5G and 3G phone industries are:
• GPRS continues to be the leading technology for 2.5G phones from mainland China and Taiwan in 2006, despite EDGE's popularity. 2.5G phone supply in 2005 was dominated by multimedia handsets featuring EMS, MMS, MP3 playback, expanded memory, large displays and high-resolution cameras
• In the 3G space, W-CDMA mobile phones are dominating supply in both Taiwan and mainland China. Several companies have the capability to develop products using any of the three 3G standards-W-CDMA, CDMA 2000 and TD-SCDMA.
• The mainland China government's announcement in January of its support for TD-SCDMA is expected to fast-track the release of 3G licenses on the mainland. This is expected to increase production of TD-SCDMA handsets for both the domestic and overseas markets.
• Prices are projected to drop in 2006. Any potential increase in prices would be due to the increase in production costs resulting from RoHS and WEEE compliance.
• Makers see a potential shortage in the supply of SoCs and thus, a corresponding increase in prices.
This report covers 11 mainland China-based companies and 13 Taiwan-based companies, representing 26 percent and 87 percent of their respective supply markets.
Industry Overview
Mainland China and Taiwan accounted for 24 percent of the worldwide shipment of 2.5G and 3G phones in 2005. The aggregate exports from these supply markets reached about 207.36 million units in 2005. This figure is expected to continue rising as more manufacturers increase both their output and exports of 2.5G and 3G phones in 2006.
Worldwide shipments of 2.5G and 3G phones reached 750 million units in 2005. This represents a 24 percent growth over the total worldwide shipment volume of 606 million units the previous year, according to Taiwan's Market Intelligence Center (MIC). The MIC projects worldwide shipments to rise by another 16 percent in 2006 to reach 869 million units.
Makers in mainland China and Taiwan are preparing to meet strong uptake in the replacement markets, which they think will feed growth in the 2.5G and 3G sectors and offset the projected slight decline in the overall mobile phone market. Low-end, low-cost mobile phones are targeted at emerging markets. High-end phones are going to more developed markets, where user requirements are varied and the replacement market is rising steadily.
Greater China makers are likewise keeping in step with GPRS and EDGE development. According to the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), there were 290 GPRS networks as of October 2005. Of these, 116 were EDGE-enabled. Data from GSA indicate that there has been more than 52 percent growth in supply of GSM/EDGE devices between March and October 2005.
In the area of 3G, data from the CDMA Development Group (CDG) indicate that the 3G user population has breached the 235 million mark. The subscriber base is expected to reach 1 billion by 2009. The 3G broadband subscriber base is projected to reach 240 million by 2008.
About 131 operators launched 128CDMA2000 1X and 24 1xEV-DO commercial networks across Asia, the Americas and Europe as of November 2005. Another 29 1X and 30 1xEV-DO networks are scheduled to be deployed in 2006.
There are now more than 900 CDMA2000 devices in the market featuring color displays, cameras and GPS capabilities. Of this, 150 devices support EV-DO networks, including low-tier phones with basic data functionality and units with multimedia capabilities.
Supplier Profile
Amoi Electronics Co. Ltd
Amoi Electronics Co. Ltd specializes in communication, computer and consumer electronics industries. The company has six business divisions and has established an extensive range of products, including mobile communication, consumer audio and video systems, portable systems, IT and electronic equipment.
Amoi began making mobile phones in 2001. With about five years of experience developing mobile phones, the product line has accounted for the bulk of the company's sales. Amoi now claims to be one of the 10 largest mainland China handset companies.
The company claimed achievements in the fields of W-CDMA, CDMA2000 and TD-SCDMA technologies. Amoi is a member of the TD-SCDMA Industrial Alliance and one of the manufacturers supported by the MII. Amoi has established long-term cooperation with Ericsson for the development of 2G, 2.5G and 3G phones. During the 3G Conference in 2004, the company also signed a cooperation agreement with Qualcomm for the development of 3G handsets based on CDMA2000.
Amoi employs more than 20,000 employees, including 1,200 R&D personnel. In 2005, it generated a total sales revenue of US$650 million from all its products. Sales from mobile phones accounted for 80 percent of the revenue. GSM phones account for 80 percent of production. The rest are PHS handsets.
In 2004, Amoi produced 5 million mobile phones and exported 250,000 units. The company mainly exports to the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Its main overseas customers include Orange, TIM and Chunghwa Telecom. More than 90 percent of the mobile phones exported carry the Amoi brand.
In 2005, the company established regional offices in the United States and Singapore. Earlier, the company launched 3G phones targeting consumers in Europe. In 2006, the company aims to penetrate other markets in Europe, the United States, India, Singapore and the Middle East.
Manufacturing Capability
Amoi has two factories located in Xiamen, Fujian province. The smaller 70,000 sqm facility in the town of Tong'an manufactures speaker cabinets and drivers. The 200,000 sqm facility located at the Amoi Electronic Town in Haicang district handles the bulk of the company's production. In 2004, the facility was expanded to 430,000 sqm to handle mobile phone production. The company has teams working on software development, hardware design, SMT, plastic injection and final assembly in this facility.
The factory has 29 SMT assembly lines, 18 assembly lines and 18 key assembly lines. It has 95 plastic injection equipment.
Currently, the company can churn out 800,000 mobile phones per month. The company targets to increase its monthly capacity to 1 million units in 2006. With such expansion underway, the company added 18 new SMT lines in 2005.
All this column of information contained in China Sourcing Reports is the result of original, independent and impartial research conducted by Global Sources analysts.
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