According to statistics of the ITIS project - a project initiated by Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs and conducted by Taipei-based MIC - Taiwanese mobile phone market volume is expected to reach 1.71 million units in the fourth quarter of 2008, down 5.3% sequentially. Market value is expected to reach NT$9.72 billion (US$294.2 million; US$1=NT$33.04). In the first quarter of 2009, as Taiwan is likely to face more economic challenges, Taiwan's government plans to hand out consumption vouchers for the country's citizens worth NT$3,600 (US$109.0) each in mid-January 2009. Furthermore, the seasonal effect of the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday is likely to generate phone replacement demand, increasing the market's growth momentum. It is therefore forecasted that Taiwanese mobile phone market volume will reach 1.79 million units in the first quarter of 2009. With ASP (Average Selling Price) forecasted to increase to NT$5,720 (US$173.1), market value is estimated to arrive at NT$10.24 billion (US$310.0 million).
Taiwanese mobile phone market sales volume reached 1.80 million units in the third quarter of 2008, up 9.1% sequentially but down 2.1% year-on-year. According to MIC Industry Analyst Joyce Chen, "in the third quarter the Taiwanese mobile phone market experienced a slowdown in new subscriber growth. Sales were mainly generated by phone replacement demand. Additionally, the financial turmoil in the European and US markets caused the stock market in Taiwan to drop, forcing consumers to spend their money more cautiously. The back-to-school effect did push market sales to a certain extent in the third quarter and stimulated the sequential growth of sales."
"In order to boost consumer demand amid the slowing global economy, mobile phone vendors have to lower mobile phone prices. In the third quarter, they gradually adjusted down prices in all product segments", said Ms. Chen. "As a result, ASP of the Taiwanese market fell to NT$5,736 (US$173.6) and market value arrived at NT$10.33 billion (US$312.7 million) in the third quarter."
In the third quarter of 2008, Taiwanese telecom operators launched a series of promotions and preferential call rates due to the economic downturn. Strong-selling models were bundled products by telecom operators, and share of mobile phones sold through telecom operators therefore increased in 2008 compared to 2007.
From the beginning of 2008, telecom operators have aggressively promoted 3G services. The number of 3G subscribers is growing steadily. At the end of September 2008, 3G subscribers accounted for over 40% of total mobile phone subscribers. In the third quarter, 3G/3.5G products' share of total sales grew to 43.5%. Due to the fact that many GSM phone users are switching to 3G, the share of GSM products fell to 52.2%, and the share of CDMA products inched up to 4.3%.
The combined share of PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) phones and Smartphones reached approximately 5% in the third quarter. Nokia and HTC still accounted for the majority of sales in this segment. Due to the sluggish economic situation in the first half of 2008, Nokia delayed the rollout of several new models until October 2008. Therefore, market sales in the third quarter were mainly existing models.
More information can be found in the following MIC report: The Taiwanese Mobile Phone Market, 4Q 2008
For future receipt of press releases, or more information about MIC research findings, please contact MIC Public Relations.
About MIC
Market Intelligence Center, based in Taipei, Taiwan, was founded in 1987. MIC is Taiwan's premier IT industry research and consulting firm providing intelligence, in-depth analysis, and strategic consulting services on global IT product and technology trends, focusing on markets and industries in Asia-Pacific. MIC is part of the Institute for Information Industry. https://mic.iii.org.tw/english
About ITIS
The ITIS (Industry and Technology Intelligence Services) project is managed by the Department of Industrial Technology of Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs. As part of the project, research is conducted in a variety of fields, including the ICT sector. The project serves both the public and private sector.