Phone makers win in Indian market

Chinese smartphone vendors are achieving initial success in India, after they ramped up efforts to lure consumers during the largest festival in the world's fastest-growing smartphone market.

In October, Chinese players collectively accounted for a more than 40 percent market share in India's top 30 cities, research firm International Data Corp said in its latest report. India's largest festival, Diwali, fell during the month.

Xiaomi Corp climbed to third place, with a market share of 10.7 percent. That is up from 7.4 percent in the third quarter. Lenovo Group Ltd, the world's largest PC maker, also saw its market share rise to 13.4 percent from 9.6 percent.

"It was almost like a Chinese smartphone Diwali across all city tiers," Upasana Joshi, a senior market analyst at IDC India, said in the report.

"China-based players contributed significantly to the growth at the offline retail counters, while continuing to dominate the online channel."

The progress came after Chinese smartphone vendors doubled their investment in India, which surpassed the United States as the second-largest global smartphone market in terms of users in early 2016.

The country is on track to cross the mark of 500 million smartphone users within the next four years, research firm Counterpoint Technology Market Research estimated.

Huawei Technologies Co Ltd started assembling handsets in India in October.

Zhao Ming, a senior executive at Huawei, said: "India is a market no one can neglect and we have a long-term commitment to it."

Gionee Communications Equipment Co Ltd also said it would invest 495 million yuan ($73.8 million) to build smartphone plants in India.

Nicole Peng, research director at Shanghai-based consultancy Canalys, said Chinese smartphone makers are eyeing India for growth because the domestic market is reaching saturation point and the Indian market is similar to that in China several years ago, as it is filled with opportunities.

"Chinese players' efforts have started to bear fruit. But the Indian market is still dominated by low-end handsets, and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and local vendors have a strong advantage," Peng said.