NEW DELHI: Chinese smartphone maker Oppo is planning to begin exports to the Middle East, North Africa and other South East Asian countries from India in the next two to three years after having broken into the ranks of the top five smartphone makers in India.
The company, which had the No. 4 spot with 10 per cent share of smartphones in January-March quarter, as per Counterpoint, plans to add local manufacturing facilities from where smartphone exports would take off, while it focuses on growing its presence in the online market over the next couple of years.
"In the next 2-3 years, in line with our plan, we will begin exporting the manufactured phones out of India to Middle East, North Africa and other South Asian markets. Currently the products offered to our Indian consumers are made in India," Sky Li, global VP and India president, told ET.
The company intends to make India a hub for exports to these countries and South Asia, the way it uses China at present, highlighting the increased focus on the India market.
Over the last couple of quarters, Oppo is one of the Chinese brands that have snatched market share away from incumbent Indian handset makers as well as global players such as Samsung on the back of aggressive marketing, which included high commission to retail and trade channels and taking over store front displays across several offline markets in the country.
Oppo has bought 110 acres of land from the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) for Rs 145 crore to set up a manufacturing unit, where the company plans to invest up to Rs 2,000 crore to build a large manufacturing complex to house assembly units but also residential units for 30,000 people it plans to employ.
"We already have one assembly factory in Noida that began production in July 2016. The rest is still under construction and we will share an update at an appropriate time," Li said when asked for details on the plan.
Source: The Economic Times