Wistron Corporation, the world’s second largest contract manufacturer after Foxconn, has entered into a joint venture with Indian retailer and handset distributor, Optiemus Infracom to set up manufacturing facilities for telecom products in India.
Over the next five years, the partners will strategically invest around $ 200 million in best in class infrastructure, technologies and processes, to cater to growing Indian and global demands of telecom products like smart phones, tablets and smart devices.
The JV targets to create over 15,000 employment opportunities in India, over the next five years. Under the JV, the companies will kick off production of HTC smartphones, starting April 2016. Media reports suggest that Wistron’s global players may also leverage the Indian facility for domestic manufacturing.
“With this partnership, we are committed to make available world class technology products at affordable prices for global and local brands. Embarking on this new journey, we intend to emerge as one of the top three third party manufacturers in the country in the next five years,” Ravinder Zutshi, Managing Director, Optiemus Infracom, said in a statement.
The partnership aims to provide a complete end to end solution to global and Indian brands encompassing world class manufacturing infrastructure, distribution, retail and after sales.
“Our collective expertise in design, manufacturing, distribution, retail and after sales services will provide a holistic solution for brands in India,” Zutshi added.
By 2017, India is expected to overtake USA to be the second largest smartphone market globally, as per research firm IDC. The market is expected to continue to grow in double-digits over the next few years as more and more people switch to smartphones and gradually upgrade to 4G-enabled phones.
“We are excited to enter the world’s fastest growing smartphone market with our partner, Optiemus Infracom Limited. With our extensive expertise in the global ICT sector and our partner’s unique local market understanding, we plan to significantly grow and nurture the Indian technology market,” Robert Hwang, President & COO, Wistron Corporation, said in a joint statement.
