Gemalto Top Smart Card Provider for First Half of 2009, Says IMS Research

IMS Research’s new report, entitled "Smart Cards & Smart Card ICs," highlights that Gemalto was the leading supplier of smart cards globally in the first half of 2009.


According to Report Analyst Don Tait, "Gemalto continued to be the market leader, accounting for just more than one third of all smart cards shipped globally in the first half of 2009. Gemalto remained the clear No. 1 for both microcontrollers and memory smart cards."


Giesecke & Devrient maintained its position as the second largest manufacturer of smart cards globally, with a 13.4-percent market share; Oberthur Technologies was third, with 12.6-percent share. Sagem Orga (winning 2.0 percent of the total in the first half of 2009) was calculated to have made good gains; to be the fourth largest supplier of smart cards globally.


"Over the last few years, Chinese manufacturers of smart cards manufacturers have been increasing their share of the global market," Tait said. "Companies such as Watchdata (up 1.6 percent of the world total) and Tianyu (up 0.8 percent) have been gaining ground over recent years. Falling prices of the standard smart cards used in mobile phone SIM cards, have played to the Chinese manufacturers, to help them compete. The lower labor costs in China have also helped their competitive position."