Chinese mobile-makers keen on Make in India initiative

In an endeavour to gain from the Indian government's Make in India initiative, over 100 Chinese handset- and component-manufacturers have come here to assess the Indian market for future investment, Wu, founder and CEO of Mobile World (Shoujibao), Shenzhen, has said.

"The main purpose of this visit is to understand the Indian market. More than 100 Chinese handset- and component-makers have come with this purpose. They want to invest in India," Wu told IANS in an interview.

He said the companies became interested in India after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to China last year and his talks on Make in India initiatives of his government.

"The three things that drew us to India are its population, the vastness of the market and the Make in India drive by its government," Wu said.

The Indian Cellular Association (ICA), the apex body representing the mobile handset industry in India, in association with Mobile World (Shoujibao), is organizing "China-India Mobile phone and Component Manufacturing Summit" on January 13.

Wu confirmed that the representatives will also meet government officials during their week-long visit to India. "We wanted to understand the nuances of the Make in India initiative."

"We are interested in India because we feel India and China, with their big populations, have a lot of potential. If both the countries work together, they can come out with best results," he said.

Major Chinese players like Techno, Gionee, Coolpad, Holitech, Wingtech, Camera King, Galaxy Core, Poxiao, Vivo, Sprocomm, Nubia, ZTE, Meizu, Water World, Transsion, Huiye, Mafe, Obi, Sinwoo, Far-Sighted Mobile, Vikin, Miki, Sop, HuaLong, Wind-Mobi, Nuwei, Ramos, and Huawei are expected to attend the summit.

Wu said most of the companies were from central and south China provinces.

In addition to the Chinese companies, the Indian mobile industry will be represented by major players like Micromax, Lava, Karbonn, Spice, Vodafone, and Intex at the summit.

The representatives of the Chinese companies also plan to visit offices and factories of Indian mobile brands like Micromax and Lava to understand their operations.

(Aparajita Gupta can be reached at aparajita.g@ians.in)