Taiwan market: Telecom operators to handle 87% of handset sales

Over 6.5 million handsets, or 87%, of a projected sales volume of 7-7.5 million mobile phones for the Taiwan market this year will be sold through six local telecom service operators, according to sources in the local channel. Handset sales in the Taiwan market totaled 1.92 million units in the first quarter of this year, the sources noted.

To sustain its sales, Chunghwa Telecom (CHT), the largest carrier in Taiwan, is expected to purchase about 2.2-2.4 million handsets, either directly from vendors or the channel, in 2006, compared to the 2.2 million handsets it purchased in 2005, the sources indicated.

The increasing bargaining power of telecom operators has resulted in a wave of merger deals or consolidation agreements within the local channel in recent years, the sources noted.

Senao International, one of the leading channel operators, plans to spin off its related networking solution business unit in order to pave the way for CHT to take up a stake in Senao, according to a May 6 report in the Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN). After the agreement, which is likely to take effect on October 1, 2006, Senao will then focus on the channel sale of handsets.

Source: Companies, compiled by DigiTimes, May 2006

Article translated by Steve Shen and edited by Eric Mah