Xiaomi's key component supplier, Holitech Technology, announced on Monday that the company will set up a manufacturing unit in India by 2019 - a move that could further bring down the prices of Xiaomi devices while at the same time, create 50,000 job openings for the locals in the next three years.
Holitech Technology is one of the biggest suppliers of electronic components for some of the world's top smartphone makers like Xiaomi. Just this week, the electronic firm signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the local government of Andra Pradesh for the construction of a manufacturing plant in Tirupati.
According to this report, the Tirupati factory will cover approximately 75 acres of land and is projected to pump out close to 50 million electronic components each year. These will include camera modules, touchscreen panels, thin film transistors (TFT), printed circuit boards, and fingerprint modules.
Holitech's chief, Flame Chen, said that these particular locally-produced parts will be for the exclusive use of Xiaomi.
Manu Kumar Jain, the head of Xiaomi's India operation, meanwhile said that the company's decision to localize the manufacturing of these components help bolster the country's "Make-In-India" initiative. This program, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, campaigns for international companies to set up shop 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," Jain was quoted as saying over at India Today.
"...we are positive that a new era of local manufacturing will begin with several job creations and other component manufacturers also coming in," the executive added.
As reported by Reuters, the USD$200 million-investment that Holitech Technology has signed for could bring as many as 50,000 jobs in Tirupati and its neighboring areas. In the first quarter of 2019, Holitech's India-based facility is already expected to generate 6,000 jobs and obviously, the figure will increase in the next three years.
There are concerns raised about the growing number of manufacturing industries in India and its effect on the environment.
As clarified by India Today, the Holitech plant will implement the necessary measures to preserve the integrity of the place. The MoU it signed with the state of Andhra Pradesh includes provisions requiring the company to construct half of the plant as clean room. A clean room is a controlled environment where contaminants and particulates are at its lowest level. This ensures the quality of the components pollutant-free during production.
