Chinese Smartphone Companies Fast Capturing Bangladesh Market

It is not just in India, Chinese players grew 125 percent Year-on-Year (YoY) and captured 29 percent of the Bangladesh handset market in the third quarter this year -- up from 13 percent in the same period last year -- market research firm Counterpoint Research said on Saturday. "As smartphone penetration in the country increases, local brands, which are losing market share to the Chinese brands, are positioning themselves as best-placed to tailor products to local needs and preferences," said Tarun Pathak, Associate Director at Counterpoint Research.

Local manufacturer Symphony Mobile remained the top handset player in Bangladesh with 26 percent market share, but its sales declined 24 percent annually owing to tough competition from players like iTel and Nokia. South Korean giant Samsung was able to maintain its second position in the smartphone segment with 14 percent market share. Chinese player Huawei clinched the third spot in the smartphone segment with 8.5 percent market share in the third quarter.

Walton was the only other Bangladesh brand to be featured in the top five smartphone brands list, achieving 8.3 percent market share. Another Chinese player iTel, at number five, captured 6.9 percent share of the smartphone market. The Bangladesh handset market grew 19 percent (Y-o-Y) and one percent sequentially. Smartphone shipments contributed to 24 percent of the total mobile phone shipments, signalling a slow but steady adoption of smartphones.

"Consumer uptake has been slow, especially after duties were increased in June 2017 and those interested in buying LTE phones waiting for LTE roll-out, now likely to happen in early 2018," Pathak added. In India, Chinese vendors captured 49 percent of the Indian mobile phone handset market in the first quarter of 2017 -- with a 180 percent (year-on-year) revenue growth -- threatening to wipe out domestic players from the overall handset segment.

Among the top Chinese brands, Xiaomi witnessed the biggest growth in India this year.

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