Mon, Oct 31, 2005 page1

• Contract firms set to up global shares

  BIGGER SLICE Booming shipments of digital cameras, phones and PDAs mean that Taiwanese manufacturers are set to grab larger global electronics market shares

  • By Jason Tan / STAFF REPORTER
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  Taiwanese contract manufacturers are poised to grab a larger slice of the worldwide digital consumer electronics pie, as latest studies showed that their shipments in digital cameras, mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) will post nearly 50 percent growth this year.

  Digital cameras manufactured by Taiwanese vendors will hit 32 million units this year, up 51 percent from last year. This translates to a global market share of 44 percent, according to a report released by Taipei-based market researcher Market Intelligence Center (MIC, 市場情報中心) last week.

  Taiwan's global share is expected to rise to 50 percent next year, with production volumes passing 40 million units, the report said.

  "Digital cameras have reached saturation in the mature markets of the US, Europe and Japan, and most brandname vendors are now slashing prices to attract users to upgrade to newer models with better functions," MIC analyst Marty Kung (龔俊光) said at an industry forum in Taipei last week.

  As US-based Kodak Eastman Co has been successful in pushing lower-priced camera models by bundling them with photo printers to boost sales, its rapid gain in market share will benefit Taiwanese contract manufacturers, he added.

  Under pricing pressure, some major Japanese vendors, such as Nikon and Olympus, have released orders to local manufacturers in a bid to lower production costs, according to Kung.

  This is good news for local first-tier camera assemblers, as improvements to their process technology means they are catching up with their Japanese peers. These makers, consisting of Premier Image Technology Corp (普立爾), Asia Optical Co (亞光), Ability Enterprise Co (佳能) and Altek Corp (華晶科技), have taken up 80 percent of the local market this year, Kung said.

  Meanwhile, mobile phones produced in Taiwan are slated to grow to 76.8 million units this year, up 46.8 percent from last year, according to MIC's estimates.

  "The whole year's growth will be mainly pushed by stable orders from Motorola and Sony Ericsson," said another MIC analyst Jeffrey Tai (戴基峰). Motorola Inc and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Ltd account for 75 percent of total volumes, he added.

  Based on the institute's forecast, the peak is expected to fall this quarter, bolstered by increased overseas and local orders. There will be 31 million units produced, which is 86 percent sequential growth and a 103 percent increase from a year ago.

  According to Tai, as BenQ Mobile (明基行動通訊) -- the group established after BenQ Corp (明基) acquired Siemens AG's handset business -- started operating early this month, the orders it released to Taiwanese vendors will also help boost local shipments in the fourth quarter through early next year.

  Another high-growth segment is PDAs, as local shipments are forecast to hit 13.73 million units by the year's end, up 52 percent from last year's number, MIC's forecast showed.

  According to MIC's deputy general director Cynthia Chyn (秦素霞), phone PDAs and PDAs with global positioning system (GPS) functionality are two growth engines this year, especially driven by demand from western European and northern American markets.

  “There will be record-high volumes during the October-December period, as

  branded vendors are set to introduce a slew of GPS PDAs and phone PDAs

  specifically for the Christmas spending period,” Chyn said.

  Shipments in the fourth quarter alone will hit 4.16 million units, posting

  20 percent sequential growth and up 42 percent from a year ago, she said.

  For your information

  High-growth markets

  * Taiwanese manufacturers' digital camera shipments are forecast to grow 51 percent this year from last, for a 44 percent global market share. * Mobile phone shipments will be 76.8 million units, up 46.8 percent from last year. * PDA shipments will be 13.73 million units, up 52 percent. Source: market intelligence center
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