Indian phone companies call for help as rivalry picks up

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Chinese smartphone companies have swept into India with aggressive marketing that targets the Indians’ love for selfies and 4G phones, leaving local firms to play catch-up in the world’s fastest growing mobile phone market.

In the first quarter (January to April) of the year, Chinese firms such as Xiaomi, Vivo, Lenovo and Oppo cornered a 51.4 per cent share of the smartphone market, compared with a 16.9 per cent share for the same period last year, said International Data Corporation (IDC).

In contrast, top Indian phone-makers such as Intex Technologies and Micromax have seen their share fall to 13.5 per cent from 40.5 per cent for the same quarter last year.

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Now, they are looking to the government to help them out.

Mr Rajeev Jain, chief financial officer of Intex Technologies, said the government should look at imposing anti-dumping duties on Chinese phones for a start.

The government, focused on bringing in foreign investment, is unlikely to turn protectionist. Still, Indian phone-makers are not seeking higher duties on components such as LED screens – which Indian firms source from China – just for Chinese phones.

India overtook the US for second place behind China with a smartphone user base of over 300 million. More are expected to switch to smartphones as the market gets a boost from the ongoing roll-out of 4G services and increased Internet coverage.

Chinese firms, facing saturation in their domestic market, are going strong, unrolling more 4G phones with a variety of attractions such as bigger storage space and display screens, as well as selfie features.

Experts said Indian phone-makers would not be able to reverse the trend any time soon with normally price-conscious Indian consumers not averse to spending a little more on phones with better features. The average price of a smartphone rose from US$131 (S$181) in the first quarter of last year to US$155 for the same period this year, said IDC.

Mr Sharma said Indian manufacturers could take steps such as bundling phones with telecommunications operators, focusing on the middle-segment 4G smartphones and even looking at foreign markets.

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