Taiwanese firm Inventec, which makes mobile phones, notebooks and consumer electronics, is setting up a unit in Chennai.
The move comes at a time when the city’s electronic ecosystem has come to a halt after the exit of Nokia and Foxconn, which is Inventec’s rival.
“Yes, the set-up of facilities in Chennai is ongoing,” a spokesperson of Inventec confirmed in an e-mail response to The Hindu . However, she did not reveal the specific details and directed the queries to the firm’s directors. The directors did not respond till late on Friday.
A senior official from the State government, on condition of anonymity, confirmed the development.
“Yes, they are setting up operations here. Their team visited Chennai and have evaluated five locations in Chennai. They are looking at two options – having an own facility and the second is rented premises. They will take a decision based on their requirement,” he said adding, “We have not discussed about the investment plans yet. All that would happen once they finalise the place,” the official added.
According to a news report in Digitimes, the firm’s production will commence at the end of the second or beginning of the third quarter of 2015. The report also said the plant may roll out smartphones and other devices for Chinese firm Xiaomi, which is making rapid inroads in to the Indian market.
Manu Jain, India Head for Xiaomi, said, “The firm is in talks with multiple partners and nothing has been finalised.” Xiaomi, touted as China’s Apple, has sold 1 million phones in India since its launch in July last. Interestingly, the entire sale was done only online through Flipkart. The firm set up an R&D unit in Bengaluru recently.
Inventec’s move would be a big boost to the investment sentiment in the State, which has gone for a toss after the closure of Nokia and Foxconn. At its peak, the belt employed 25,000 people, which has now dwindled. While Nokia is looking at ways to monetise the land, Foxconn has said its future investment in India will depend on demand.
When asked whether Inventec evinced any interest in the Nokia SEZ at Sriperambudur, the government official said, “Inventec is not looking at Nokia SEZ.”
