Philippines fastest growing market for smartphones in SE Asia

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines remained the fastest-growing market for smartphones in Southeast Asia, with the number of devices jumping more than four-fold as of July from the same period last year.

Singapore-based research firm GfK in a report released Monday showed that one in four mobile devices sold in the Philippines as of July was a smartphone.

“The Philippines continues to report exponential three-fold growth of 326 percent in smartphone volume sales, rendering it the fastest-growing market for smartphones in Southeast Asia region,” GfK said.

“(The Philippines was) also the country with the highest jump in smartphone market share within a year, from 9 to 24 percent,” the report said.

The sales growth in the country was significantly higher than the 78-percent growth recorded in Southeast Asia’s seven major markets, namely the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia.

GfK said the smartphone growth in the region was driven primarily by the entry of more affordable devices worth $100 to $200 each, which are now dominating the market.