Vietnam’s cell phone and spare part sector has recorded phenomenal growth over the past five years, with analysts expecting it to go from strength to strength in view of the 20.2 billion USD it took home during the January-November period.

The figure represented a year-on-year rise of 78.4 percent, placing the sector among the top earners of hard currency from 30 countries and territories across the globe.

Its biggest market is the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which bought 2.96 billion USD worth of handsets, up 155 percent on an annual basis and making up nearly 16.5 percent of the sector’s total turnover.

Exports to Germany, Austria and the UK also soared to 1.36 billion USD, 1.29 billion USD and 1.23 billion USD respectively.

In 2010, the sector ranked eighth among the biggest currency generators. One year later, its shipments abroad climbed 198.4 percent.

Moving into 2012, it beat the crude oil sector to become the country’s second largest source of earnings with more than 12.7 billion USD, nearly double the sum in the preceding year.

Gathering such momentum, the sector has fetched the biggest export revenues since June this year, dethroning the garment sector.

Its respective trade surplus in 2010, 2011 and 2012 was 812 million USD, 3.67 billion USD and 7.67 billion USD.

Foreign-invested firms are behind this growth, accounting for 98.2 percent of mobile phone makers in Vietnam. The largest are giants Samsung, Nokia and LG.-VNA