Chinese Satellite Industry to Disrupt Markets Across Eurasia

February 13, 2018

NSR’s industry-first China Satcom Markets (CSM) report, released today, finds a Chinese satellite industry primed to take a larger share of the global satcom market through attractive one-stop-shop offerings, aggressive growth plans and enhanced exports.  For GEO-HTS satellites alone, NSR forecasts Chinese state-owned companies to manufacture and launch over 800 Gbps of capacity by 2026, with much of this coming over Southeast Asia, East Asia, and South Asia. 
 
Since the end of the cold war, the satellite and space industry has been a duopoly between the United States and EU, with other players such as Russia, Japan, and now India playing a secondary role. At some point soon, however, it appears likely China will assume a position as a top tier space nation globally, with significant ramifications for the satellite telecoms industry.
 
“China’s most recent five-year plan (2016-2020) notes a goal to improve launch & manufacturing capabilities, specifically for new satellite platforms. This translates into more satellites being exported by China to developing countries, with at least 3 ordered in 2018 thus far,” notes Jose Del Rosario, NSR Research Director.
 
China is primarily targeting turnkey projects, oftentimes including key financing mechanisms, as well as launching and manufacturing arrangements. Over the coming years, NSR expects this to add up to approx. 10-15% more capacity over regions across Eurasia, and in some instances Latin America. The capacity added will be significant but will not be catastrophic for the market.
 
NSR’s China Satcom Markets (CSM) report combines a deep understanding of China’s space and satellite export capabilities with an understanding of China’s geopolitical goals, and outlines how the Chinese satellite industry is primed to take a larger share of the global satcom market through aggressive exporting.