Taiwan' s Cellphone Shipments Estimated at 153 million Units in 2006

Taipei, March 17, 2006 (CENS)--Based on the persistent booming sales of cellphones worldwide, the Market Intelligence Center (MIC) under the government-backed Institute for Information Industry estimated Taiwan has projected Taiwan' s shipments of cellphones to double to 153 million units this year from last year' s 77.8 million..

If the projection can be smoothly achieved, domestic cellphone industry will account for 18% of the world market. MIC estimated global shipments of cellphones would amount to 850 million units this year.

MIC said domestic cellphone industry is undergoing a structural change after BenQ acquired the cellphone unit of the Germany-based Siemens AG last year. After BenQ' s acquisition, the ratio of ODM (original design manufacturer) cellphones to overall shipments will slide to 60% this year from last year' s 80%. In addition, the ratio of own-brand cellphones to overall shipments may hit more than 30% this year. The industry will also see substantial growth in average selling price and production value this year.

At the end of last year, MIC predicted BenQ would be able to ship over 100 million units of cellphones this year.