By Yongchang Chin
Luxshare Precision Industry Co. shares rose 7.7% to 49.02 yuan by midday Wednesday following news it is building a new iPhone-assembly plant in China, challenging the dominance of Taiwanese rivals Foxconn Technology Group and Pegatron Corp. in the smartphone-manufacturing business.
Luxshare Precision is constructing a 285,000-square-meter manufacturing park in the Chinese city of Kunshan with an investment of 11 billion yuan ($1.73 billion), Nikkei reported. The facility is set to complete the first phase of the new complex in the middle of 2022 and plans to begin producing iPhones then, according to Nikkei.
Wingtech Technology Co. also recently entered Apple Inc.’s supply chain and won orders to make the Mac mini and Apple TV, Nikkei also reported, citing unnamed sources. Wingtech’s stock rose 3.6% to CNY138.95.
The outlook for smartphone sales in China this year doesn’t look strong to Jefferies. Channel checks by the U.S. bank showed that despite China’s handset shipment volumes rising 19% in November from a year earlier, sales for the month fell 11%, implying rising channel inventories.
However, Jefferies said that excluding iPhones, November handset sales in China dropped 17%, suggesting that the iPhone’s market share remained high for the month.
“Year to date, China’s handset sell-through is down 3% on year,” Jefferies said. “It looks likely China’s handset sell-through in 2021 will be down.”
Write to Yongchang Chin at [email protected]
