Smartphone imports soar 57pc in six months

Smartphone imports rose 57.44 percent in the first half of 2016 from a year earlier, in a development that will bring cheers to mobile operators and the government alike as it strives for a Digital Bangladesh.

Between January and June, 35.71 lakh pieces were brought into the country, according to Bangladesh Mobile Phone Importers Association.

“It is quite exciting that in every four handsets that we import, one is a smartphone,” said Rezwanul Hoque, general secretary of BMPIA.

Last year, the ratio was one in five, he said, adding that it will definitely become bigger in the next few years.

During the January-June period, the industry imported a total of 1.35 crore handsets, up 23.84 percent year-on-year.

Smartphones accounted for 26.35 percent of the imports in the first half of 2016, in contrast to 20.88 percent a year earlier.

This year, the importers aim to sell 90 lakh smartphones.

“We are optimistic about our market's growth, going so far as to forecast a trebling of market share in the next five years,” said Hoque, who is also a director of mobile giant Symphony.

Symphony's low-cost smartphones are dominating the segment. The local brand accounted for 43.8 percent of the total smartphones imported during the period.

Though Samsung is far behind Symphony in import quantity, it superseded the local brand in import value.

Samsung accounted for 18.8 percent of the smartphone imports in the first half of the year, but the import value of handsets was 34 percent. In contrast, Symphony's import value stood at 30.3 percent.

Another local brand, Walton, accounted for 9 percent of the smartphone imports in the first half, Chinese manufacturers Huawei and Oppo 5.3 percent and 3.5 percent respectively, Indian brand Lava 6.2 percent and other brands 13.4 percent.

“Smartphones will rule the future market,” Hoque said.

People now celebrate their special occasions by gifting smartphones -- a development that is fuelling the segment's growth.

For instance, the month of June alone, which preceded Eid-ul-Fitr, the biggest festival in the country, saw a third of the 35.71 lakh smartphone imports.

Currently, the average price of a smartphone is about Tk 3,200, importers said.

In the feature phone and basic phone segments, Symphony maintained its unassailable lead as in previous years, accounting for 42.3 percent of the basic phone and 29.3 percent of the feature phone imports in the first six months.

Non-branded sets came in second in both the segments, where the average price is Tk 1,200.

The BMPIA said the first half handset import figures would have been higher were it not for the high duty, which discourages bringing in mobile phones into the country through the legal channel.

Currently, about 30 percent of the nine crore active handsets in Bangladesh were brought in through illegal channels.

More than 95 percent of the handsets imported in Bangladesh are manufactured in China and they are subjected to 25 percent duty.

A few years back, the import duty was around 10 percent and the illegal import ratio then was around 10 percent.

The BMPIA also expressed its dissatisfaction over the 37 percent tax for handsets assembled in the country.

Companies like Symphony are ready to set up assembling plants in Bangladesh but the heavy tax is acting as the impediment, Hoque said.

“Importing the handsets from China makes more economical sense to us right now,” he added.