U.S. brokerage Morgan Stanley has raised its projections for global smartphone shipments in 2012 and 2013 in light of robust growth in the Asia Pacific region.

The brokerage said it expects worldwide smartphone shipments to grow 45 percent this year and 30 percent next year. This was revision of its earlier forecasts of 33 percent and 29 percent, respectively.

The Asia-Pacific region, excluding Japan, will account for 44 percent of the estimated 718.4 million units of global smartphone shipments in 2012, with China alone taking a 29-percent share, Morgan Stanley said in a report dated Dec. 19.

For 2013, total smartphone shipments will grow 30 percent to 933 million units, with China accounting for 33 percent and the Asia-Pacific region as a whole taking 50 percent, the brokerage forecast.

“The rise in volumes in China in our model is driven by average selling prices falling quickly to the sub-1,000 Chinese yuan (US$160) level, driving growth of the low-end smartphone market and squeezing the mid-range market,” Morgan Stanley said.