On July 12th, it was reported that chip giant Qualcomm is suing Transsion Holdings Group for infringing four non-standard basic patents in the Delhi High Court in India.
Subsequently, reporters from the Daily Economic News contacted Qualcomm and Transsion Holdings (688036. SH, stock price 79.33 yuan, market value 89.579 billion yuan) respectively to inquire about the situation. On the evening of July 12th, Transsion Holdings responded to reporters by saying, "Transsion respects the intellectual property rights of third parties and is willing to follow the principles of fairness, reasonableness, and non discrimination to reach an intellectual property license agreement with patent owners through friendly negotiations. We have signed a 5G standard patent license agreement with Qualcomm and are currently fulfilling the agreement
At the same time, Transsion also stated that "the company's sales network covers more than 70 emerging market countries such as Africa and South Asia. In these countries, some patent holders do not own or only own a small number of patents, but demand high licensing fees according to globally unified rates, without considering factors such as differences in economic development levels in different regions or markets, lack of patents or only have a small number of patents in specific regions or markets, and existing precedents that provide different rates in different regions. We believe that the practices of some patent holders do not fully follow the principles of fairness, reasonableness, and non discrimination. In the mobile phone industry, intellectual property litigation is frequent. Domestic and foreign mobile phone brands have already or are facing intellectual property litigation in their business processes. Transsion will continue to engage in patent negotiations with third parties, while respecting the intellectual property rights of others, and promoting the determination of reasonable licensing fees within the framework of fair, reasonable, and non discriminatory principles, in order to achieve a win-win situation in the industry chain, including patent owners and licensees, and better meet the needs of consumers in emerging markets
The reporter noticed that Qualcomm stated in its statement that in the past decade, its patent licensing business in China has been following the rectification plan it submitted to the National Development and Reform Commission of China in 2015 and obtained its approval. However, despite Qualcomm's relentless efforts over the past few years, Transsion has consistently refused to fully obtain permission from Qualcomm. Transsion recently signed a licensing agreement with Qualcomm for some of its products, but the vast majority of its products have not yet been licensed by Qualcomm and are still infringing on Qualcomm's valuable patent portfolio. Through this lawsuit, Qualcomm seeks to restore and maintain a fair competitive environment for all of its licensees.
Public information shows that Transsion Holdings was established in 2013, headquartered in Shenzhen, mainly engaged in the design, research and development, production, sales, and brand operation of intelligent terminals with mobile phones as the core; The main products are TECNO (mid to high end brand), itel, and Infinix (mass market brand) mobile phones, including feature phones and smartphones. Transsion once held a 57% market share in Africa, earning it the nickname "King of Africa" from the outside world. In terms of the latest market share, according to IDC data, the company's market share in the African smartphone market will exceed 40% in 2023. Although the higher point has declined, it still ranks first in Africa.
After achieving success in the African market, Transsion has started to enter other emerging markets in recent years, and India is one of them. According to the company's 2023 annual report citing an IDC report, the company's market share in the Indian smartphone market in 2023 was 8.2%, ranking sixth. In addition, the company has set up factories in Ethiopia, India, Bangladesh and other places, which can quickly respond to market demand and also drive local employment and production facilities construction.
In terms of performance, Transsion Holdings achieved a revenue of 62.295 billion yuan in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 33.69%, and a net profit attributable to the parent company of 5.537 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 122.93%. In the first quarter of this year, Transsion achieved a revenue of 17.443 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 88.1%; The net profit was 1.626 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 210.3%.