Oppo sets up R&D centre in Hyderabad; fourth largest outside China

Chinese handset maker OPPO on Saturday said it has set up a research and development (R&D) centre in Hyderabad.

The India R&D centre is the fourth such set up globally and the largest outside China, it said.

The company -- which competes with the likes of Xiaomi, Samsung and VIVO in the Indian market -- did not disclose the investment details.

"The brand has always attached great importance to R&D in cutting-edge technology and will build upon its global focus on the space through the centre in India... (the centre) will contribute towards bringing exciting innovation and advanced technologies to India," OPPO said in a statement.

"The opening of our R&D centre in Hyderabad will help us implement innovative and exciting technologies in future products that we introduce in India as well as help us build a local ecosystem for smartphone devices," OPPO India Vice President and R&D Head Tasleem Arif said.

OPPO said talent will be hired from reputed institutes such as the IITs for the centre that will focus on product stabilisation along with the Indian operators through collaborations.

OPPO had recently announced a global investment of RMB 10 billion towards the R&D space for 2019. With this, OPPO will integrate its supply chain and build on its technical expertise to enhance the company's technological capabilities, as well as develop a range of smart devices, including smart watches and smart home technologies.