In a strong push for foldable smartphones, reportedly, Huawei has issued rush orders to its supply chain lately. The shipment target for foldable smartphones this year is set at ten million units, marking a nearly threefold increase from the 2.6 million units shipped last year.

Previous rumors suggested that Huawei was considering lowering its foldable smartphone shipment targets for this year. However, the industry sources from related supply chain emphasizes that not only did Huawei refrain from reducing orders, but it significantly increased them.

According to Economic Daily News cited from supply chain sources, Huawei has set very ambitious goals for foldable smartphone shipments this year, aiming to increase from last year’s 2.6 million units to a range of 7 to 10 million units. This represents a nearly threefold increase, requiring additional support from various components.

Among them, the critical mobile phone component CIS, due to a rebound from the market downturn, has seen prices starting to surge. Main CIS supplier, Samsung, has raised prices by 25% to 30% this quarter.

To avoid the risk of escalating prices, CIS has become Huawei’s top priority for stocking up, primarily supplied by the Chinese CIS supplier, OmniVision. The substantial increase in overall shipment targets for foldable smartphone has driven a several-fold growth in CIS stockpiles.

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(Photo credit: Huawei)

In 2019, the U.S. Commerce Department blacklisted Huawei and over 70 of its subsidiaries, restricting China’s advancement in advanced chip development.

However, in August 2023, Huawei unexpectedly launched its new flagship smartphone, the Mate 60 Pro, featuring its self-developed 5G chip, hinting at Huawei’s breakthrough in the U.S. 5G chip restriction.

The release of this new smartphone swiftly dominated the high-end smartphone market in China, with Apple being the primary target. As Huawei plans to expand the market share of its high-end flagship series in 2024, targeting the domestic market in China, the product is poised for direct competition with Apple.

The performance of Apple’s smartphones in the Chinese market next year will be a focal point of industry attention.

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(Photo credit: Huawei)

Chinese iPhone assembly contractor Luxshare Precision is set to officially acquire the controlling stake of Pegaglobe (Kunshan), the iPhone assembly plant under Pegatron. This series of acquisitions will provide Luxshare with a stronger competitive advantage against Foxconn. Concurrently, Luxshare is reinforcing its component layout to enhance its capability to expand iPhone orders.

Following the acquisition of Wistron’s Jiangsu and Kunshan plant, Luxshare has now secured the controlling stake of Pegaglobe (Kunshan), a subsidiary of Pegatron. This marks another acquisition of China’s plants involved in manufacturing iPhone for Taiwanese companies.

According to UDN citing from industry insiders,  Luxshare’s acquisition of Pegaglobe (Kunshan) is likely to have received Apple’s approval. Luxshare has consecutively broken the pattern of iPhones being solely manufactured by Taiwanese companies, suggesting that Luxshare has the opportunity to reshape the landscape of iPhone manufacturing in the future.

Having acquired iPhone manufacturing plants in China from Wistron and Pegatron, Luxshare not only gains more market share in manufacturing but also expands its presence in the upstream iPhone component supply chain. This ongoing integration of upstream components enhances Luxshare’s capability to secure more iPhone orders.

In the past three years, Luxshare has been consistently acquiring iPhone-related supply chain entities. In July 2020, Luxshare’s subsidiary, Lizhen Precision (Jiangsu), acquired Wistron Investment (Jiangsu) and Wistron InfoComm Manufacturing (Kunshan) for RMB 3.3 billion (approximately USD 467 million), marking the beginning of Luxshare’s acquisition of plants involved in iPhones assembly for Taiwanese companies.

Recently, Luxshare finalized an agreement with the global provider of connectivity and power solutions – Qorvo. Luxshare will acquire Qorvo’s testing and packaging facilities in Beijing and Dezhou, with the transaction expected to be completed in the first half of next year. This move is seen as Luxshare’s effort to build a more comprehensive iPhone component supply chain.

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(Photo credit: Luxshare)

Recently, as Indian media cited anonymous sources, that the Indian law enforcement agency arrested three executives of Vivo India Company on charges of alleged involvement in a money laundering case.

As per The Times of India, the individuals arrested by the Indian law enforcement agency in this case are Hong Xuquan, the interim CEO of vivo India, along with Harinder Dahiya, the CFO of Vivo India, and the company consultant Hemant Munjal.

The three have been taken into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Reportedly, an ED spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for a comment. Furthermore, the Vivo employees is said to be appear in court on December 26.

Vivo spokesperson has responded accordingly that, “We are deeply alarmed by the current action of the authorities. The recent arrests demonstrate continued harassment and as such induce an environment of uncertainty amongst the wider industry landscape. We are resolute in using all legal avenues to address and challenge these accusations.”

According to The Times of India, in October of this year, the Indian law enforcement agency arrested four individuals, including Vivo’s chartered accountant Nitin Garg.

The report further states that from 2014 to the present, Vivo India has been allegedly probing suspicious transactions, which were remitted by the company to China from Rs 1.25 lakh crore of receipts from its Indian operations since 2014

“Various Chinese nationals have been traveling across India, including sensitive places of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, in gross violation of Indian visa conditions.” the agency added.

Previously, as per  Hindustan Times, the Indian government banned numerous Chinese apps, accusing them of being “prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the state and public order.” Since June 2020, more than 200 Chinese apps, including popular ones such as TikTok, WeChat, and UC Browser, have been banned.

The government has also stated in its parliament indicating that, Chinese smartphone makers, including Xiaomi, Realme, Oppo, and Vivo, have been found evading taxes to the tune of Rs 9,000 crore in India.

(Photo credit: Vivo)

In a significant move to regulate online and mobile games, China’s National Press and Publication Administration has issued a draft regarding online game management measures, with the intention of soliciting public opinions.

It is stipulated that online games are prohibited from offering inducement rewards such as daily login bonuses, first-time recharge perks, and consecutive recharge incentives. This directive directly challenges the prevailing business and monetization models in the current landscape of online and mobile gaming.

The regulation further mentions that, game publishers are forbidden from providing or tolerating high-priced transactions of virtual items through speculative or auction formats. All online games must implement user recharge limits, which should be publicly disclosed in their service rules.

For users engaging in irrational consumption behavior, there should be pop-up warning reminders. When providing random draw services, online game publishers must reasonably set the draw frequency and probabilities, avoiding inducing users to overspend.

Additionally, alternative methods such as virtual item exchanges and direct purchases with in-game currency should be offered to users to obtain items with similar functionality and value-added services.

The regulations also emphasize that the online game publishers should announce the termination of publishing or operating the game at least 60 days in advance. Refunds or exchanges should be conducted in legal currency or other methods accepted by users, based on the proportion of user purchases.

The regulations stipulate that online game publishers must have the necessary technical equipment, related servers, and storage equipment located within the territory of China.

(Photo credit: Unsplash)