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AKARTA: The import of mobile phones to Indonesia enjoyed a significant growth of 27 percent to more than 12 million units in the third quarter of 2011 compared to the volume in the previous three months, an industry analyst says.

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), a key driver of the growth was the high volume of shipments of low-end mobile phones, particularly those with dual SIM cards.

“In addition, continuous improvements in the distribution channels outside Jakarta and Java Island created better opportunities for vendors to meet targets through low-cost handset sales,” Fajar Hidayat, a market analyst for Telecommunications Research at IDC Indonesia said in a press statement on Wednesday.

Fajar said the import of regular cellular phones, which account for approximately 89 percent of the total imports, increased by 30 percent in the third quarter. Smartphones, on the other hand, maintained a positive growth trend of 5 percent.

“Despite the breakthroughs made by local vendors, smartphone sales in Indonesia are still led by international brands,” Hidayat added.

The three leading vendors for regular phones are Nokia, Cross and Nexian, while the leaders in the smartphone category were RIM, Samsung and HTC.

Hidayat said IDC was expecting the Indonesian smartphone market to grow by 68 percent in 2012 with the introduction of lower-cost Android smartphones, priced at below Rp 1.2 million (US$132.11).