China white-box handsets have seen declined popularity in emerging markets where mobile telecom carriers and retail channels are eager to look for products of better quality, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers. This is likely to create business opportunities for Taiwan-based handset ODMs.
China-based white-box handset vendors had been active in emerging markets including China, Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America, the sources indicated. However, as telecom carriers have gained more control and consumers become more brand-conscious amid growing demand for smartphones, China-based white-box handset vendors have seen business decline in Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America, the sources noted.
Telecom carriers, local vendors and retail channels in those emerging markets are expected to release handset ODM orders, but they tend to avoid China-based suppliers, the sources claimed. Therefore, Taiwan-based ODMs stand a good chance of obtaining such orders.
However, ODM orders from emerging markets are mostly small in shipment volume as compared with those released by international vendors, the sources noted. Therefore, Taiwan-based makers are expected to rely on existing resources in R&D and component procurement to handle ODM production for such clients, the sources added.
