Xiaomi component supplier Holitech to Make in Andhra, will invest $200 mn

Xiaomi | Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Chinese mobile phone company Xiaomi announced on Monday that Holitech Technology, its key component supplier, will start component manufacturing in India. 

Holitech has signed a MoU with the Andhra Pradesh government to set up a manufacturing facility at Tirupati for Xiaomi.

Holitech will invest nearly $200 million over three years and will be the first manufacturer in India to produce camera modules, thin film transistors (TFT), capacitive touch screen module (CTP), flexible printed circuits (FPC) and finger print sensor locally, the company said.

The local manufacturing by one of its key component suppliers will give a further cost advantage to Xiaomi, which is currently producing a major chunk of its India-made (MI) smartphones in Andhra Pradesh’s Sri City industrial park through Foxconn.

The local manufacturing of components is expected to start by the first quarter of calendar year 2019.

According to the MoU, the component-manufacturing plant, which will produce nearly 50 million components per month, will spread across 75 acres in Tirupati.

The Andhra Pradesh government has extended a host of incentives in terms of tax, land and power subsidy, among other things.

"Our state-of-the art infrastructure makes Andhra Pradesh an exciting investment opportunity and it is heartening to see Holitech Technology come to the state and initiate a big revolution in the market for local manufacturing," state IT Minister Nara Lokesh said.

According to Xiaomi Vice President and Xiaomi India Managing Director Manu Jain, the company witnessed a significant growth in India and Holitech's plans set in place a new motion for the electronics manufacturing industry in the country.

“As a brand dedicated to the cause of Make in India, we are proud to be leading this initiative from the front for the entire nation and hope everyone can make best specs, highest quality products accessible to the country at honest pricing,” he said.

Holitech's announcement comes close on the heels of global supplier investment summit organised by Xiaomi in India in April.

Holitech Technology Co-Founder and CEO said, "The phenomenal growth of Xiaomi along with their initiatives to promote local manufacturing has encouraged us to explore component manufacturing for Xiaomi in India. We are pleased to bring several industry firsts to the state of Andhra Pradesh."