Chinese phone manufacturers slam Broadcom's $130bn bid for Qualcomm

Deal would reduce competition, hamper innovation and raise prices, argue Xiaomi, ZTE, Oppo and Vivo

Some of China's biggest smartphone manufacturers have slammed Broadcom's $130 billion bid for Qualcomm, claiming that it will endanger competition in the industry.

Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo, among the biggest names in the smartphone manufacturing business, believe that the deal would hamper innovation and cause widespread uncertainty

According to Bloomberg, the companies claimed that the combination of these two companies would generate a monopoly that would affect growth and fair competition in the sector.

They're also worried that the deal may affect research and development in the semiconductor industry, with so much of the market tied up in one, highly leveraged company that could nevertheless see off all-comers.

The companies are all customers of Qualcomm chipsets and mobile processors, and their opposition may in part be instigated by Qualcomm as part of its defence against the hostile takeover.

Speaking at a Qualcomm event, Xiaomi co-founder Lvin Bin voiced his support for its supplier. He said: "The thing we worry about the most is if it were completed, will there be continued investment in the future?

"Without the investment, the entire industry will not grow well. So from this point of view, Xiaomi fully supports Qualcomm."

On Thursday, the companies formed an alliance to help Qualcomm develop fifth-generation wireless devices. Telecoms equipment maker and smartphone manufacturer ZTE is also involved.

Oppo, too, cuttingly suggested that Broadcom doesn't have the best track record for technology development, a claim supported by ZTE and Lenovo.

Oppo founder and CEO Tony Chen feared the development of monopolies in various segments of the semiconductor industry: "I'm not very familiar with that company but what I heard was they are good at making financial moves.

"If that's the case, I think there's a possibility of monopoly. I don't think it is good news for the industry and customers."

Shen Wei, CEO of Vivo, also criticised the deal: "We don't want changes because they will bring uncertainty."