Chinese firms, however, are pinning big hopes on growth in the second-most-populous country because of the rapidly surging demand. About 17.6 million smartphones were sold in India from January to March, representing a whopping 186 percent year-on-year jump, according to IDC. The increase was the fastest across the Asia-Pacific region.
Cedar Zhang, marketing director at vivo Communication Technology Co Ltd's India arm, said that the sales channel in India is less sophisticated than that in China. "Most of the devices sold in India are not bundled with telecom carriers. This is a major reason why the Indian market is appealing to most Chinese firms."
The Guangdong-headquartered vivo is set to launch its products in India soon.
In addition, India, being an English-speaking country with an open mobile phone market, could also help Chinese companies to gain marketing and operating experience for future overseas expansion, said Zhang from vivo.
Chinese manufacturers' going global attempts are also part of their efforts to offset slowing smartphone shipments within China. Profit margins for local companies are shrinking rapidly as most of the devices they sell are in the highly competitive middle and low-end segment.
Analysts said that Chinese brands are better off in emerging markets as competition in developed markets has become intense. Telecom carriers in developed markets invest heavily in subsiding top-tier brands such as Samsung and Apple Inc, leaving limited space for smaller companies.
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Xiaomi's tablet aims to challenge Apple's iPad |
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