Xiaomi in Indian Production Expansion Talks

Article By : Sufia Tippu

Two new component partners on the cards, according to Managing Director Manu Jain

BENGALURU — Chinese smartphone and electronics manufacturer Xiaomi is planning to increase the number of manufacturing plants in India.

The company is “in active discussions” with “two other partners” for “multiple components” though “nothing is finalized yet”, managing director for India, Manu Jain, said. reportedly told The Economic Times. This expansion will help support the firm’s growth in India, especially in smartphones where it is the market leader with its Mi brand. The company wants to team up with local component providers to reduce product prices and cut down on go-to-market time.

It is likely that the company wants to launch its entire component ecosystem partners in India, the report said.

Jain said this effort comes months after the company “brought over 50 of its supply chain partners from China and Taiwan” to India so that they could evaluate the possibility of setting up a local production facility. The component makers visited Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh for possible investment opportunities. The supply chain partners “could potentially invest $2.5 billion” in India in the coming years, potentially resulting in 50,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Holitech Group, one of the major component suppliers is already setting up a $200- acre manufacturing facility in Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh at an investment of about 4200 miioiiolRs 1,400 crore in next three years. This facility will make camera module, TFT, touch screen panel, flexible printed circuit and fingerprint modules for the company.

Xiaomi already has six manufacturing facilities for smartphones and one unit for power banks spread across Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Noida (Uttar Pradesh). It recently started its first-ever SMT (surface-mount technology) plant in collaboration with Foxconn to begin printed circuit board or PCB assembling in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu.

Jain also said Xiaomi is actively looking at start-ups or strategic investment and partnerships to build a complete ecosystem around its services and products. Xiaomi has invested in more than 10 startups in India and plans to invest $1 billion in 100 Indian startups over the next 5 years to create an ecosystem of apps around its smartphone brand.

— Sufia Tippu is a freelance tech journalist based in India contributing to EE Times India

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