Foreign mobile phone giants localize in scramble for Chinese market
( 2003-06-04 09:08) (8)
Foreign firms are localizing their products in China as they strive for a greater share of the world's largest mobile phone market. The Sony Ericsson T618 model recently entered the market featuring screen savers and profiles designed in traditional Chinese pictures, such as Beijing Opera facial make-up and traditional painted fans. The new mobile phone is the first produced in China by Sony Ericsson, with more than 90 percent of the hardware made domestically, said the company. Motorola has set up 19 R&D centers with an investment so far of 2.5 billion yuan (US$305 million). Another mobile phone giant, Nokia, also designed the 6108 model recently in its R&D center in China, with a design inspired by the terra-cotta warriors and horses, said the company. Analysis by the Ministry of Information Industry shows that these foreign mobile phone giants, together with Siemens, shared 84 percent of the Chinese market in 1999 but fell to 50.68 percent in 2002, while domestic companies were rising significantly in market shares, reaching 39.4 percent last year.
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