NASDAQ-listed China TechFaith Wireless Communication Technology
Ltd yesterday said it expected a shift to the ODM (original design
manufacturer) model would help turn around its loss-making
operations.
"We are expecting increasing ODM activities in China," said Dong
Defu, chairman and CEO of TechFaith, the largest mobile phone
design company in China.
"China will soon become a global ODM center with an increasing
number of global handset makers transferring their design
activities here."
Under the ODM model, companies design and manufacture goods that
other companies sell under their own brand names.
TechFaith has been focusing on providing ready-to-build phone
designs to handset manufacturers and has not been involved in
manufacturing so far.
It has just posted a quarterly net loss of US$3.4 million and
last week announced that it is cutting its workforce by 400, which
could lower its operating expenses by at least US$2 million per
quarter.
A switch to the ODM mode would help cushion the stiff
competition in the cellphone design market, said Dong. "Overseas
operators' demand for ODM service is strong," he told China
Daily.
A number of global telephone operators including Vodafone and
Hutchison Whampoa are turning to mainland companies for designing
and manufacturing cellphones.
Top Chinese telecom equipment makers Huawei Technologies and ZTE
Corp have provided phones to Vodafone that are sold in Europe.
In January, TechFaith won orders from Hutchison CAT Wireless
Multimedia Ltd in Thailand, Asia Pacific Telecom Group in Taiwan
Province and Sferia SA in Poland.
In recent months, the mobile phone design cycle has shortened
from 10 months to 3.5 months on average, which could help TechFaith
cut costs and regain competitiveness, according to Dong.
The market for China's independent handset design houses saw a
peak in 2002, when TechFaith was founded. The average profit margin
of the industry was then as high as 300 percent as manufacturers
placed big orders for ready-to-build designs to launch as many new
handset models as possible.
In March, TechFaith announced it would form a joint venture with
a "leading one-stop component provider for handset manufacturers"
to boost its ODM business.
Some industry observers speculated the partner is Shenzhen-based
BYD Co Ltd, which produces cars and electronics components
including batteries.
(China Daily June 1, 2007)