TSMC sees few orders from OmniVision in December as handset market grows weak

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has received few orders from imaging sensor supplier OmniVision in December, which is a sign of the client's pessimistic outlook for the handset market in the first quarter of 2009, according to industry sources.

MediaTek's sharp decline in November sales also shows that the white-box handset market in China is good as it was in the first three quarters in 2008, said the sources.

Since the order visibility for the first quarter of 2009 is low, some handset makers have stopped placing orders from handset component suppliers, the sources added.