Vietnam remained one of the top 5 smartphone exporters in Southeast Asia in January, according to the latest report from independent analysts Canalys.

The other countries were Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand.

Smartphone shipments by the top 5 rose to 7.26 million units, marking a significant year-on-year increase of 20 per cent, Canalys said in a recent press release.

However, Vietnam was the only market in the region to decline, by 2 per cent year-on-year to 848,000 units in January.

The recovery of Vietnam’s smartphone market has been slower than anticipated, with major distributors such as Mobile World and FPT shifting their investments to new ventures such as AI.

Xiaomi is working to reinvigorate its presence in the country and increased its market share from 5 per cent in January 2023 to 19 per cent in 2024 thanks to 288 per cent growth in smartphone shipments.