The company is also planning to set up a 100 per cent subsidiary for the manufacturing operations and most of the Rs 500-crore investment would come in form of equity.

The existing Konka subsidiary, Konka Electronics India Ltd, which is a three-way joint venture is expected to handle the marketing of the products while the proposed 100 per cent subsidiary would be a manufacturing company.

The Chinese company holds 51 per cent stake in Konka Electronics India while Delhi-based Hotline holds 25 per cent stake and the balance 24 per cent is with Hong Kong-based Wittis. Konka Electronics was set up with equity base of Rs 50 crore.

Konka Group vice general manager Huang Zhong-Tian, who was here for the launch of the brand, said the decision on the 100 per cent subsidiarywould be finalised soon. The work on the integrated manufacturing facility is expected to start early next year, he added.

The R&D facility is expected to be set up within six months on a small scale and expanded subsequently. The facility would be networked with Konka's other R&D facilities in Silicon Valley, Hong Kong and China.

The Chinese government, one of the major stake holders in the Konka Group, has given the conglomerate equivalent of Rs 2,500 crore for overseas expansion. Of this Rs 500 crore had been earmarked for India.

The company is understood to be considering Greater Noida as a site for the facility. Zhong-Tian said the company would manufacture colour televisions, washing machines, refrigerators, airconditioners and microwave ovens at this facility. Production of televisions are expected to commence first.

Addressing a press conference here to announce the launch of brand in India, Konka Electronics India Ltd chief executive officer Rajeev Puri said that the company was targetting Rs250 crore turnover in the first year of operation. He added the company expected to break even in the first year.

Elaborating on the launch plan of products, Puri said in the first phase spanning August and September, the company would launch 28 models of colour televisions in screen sizes ranging from 14 inches to 42 inches, digital video disk players and video compact disk players.

In the second phase starting October, home appliances such as washing machines--automatic and semiautomatic, refrigerators--frost free as well as direct cool types would be launched. In the third phase, airconditioners and microwave ovens would be rolled out. The high end audio products would be launched in the fourth phase of the roll out of the products.

He added that the company would first launch the products in north Indian markets of Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar. The products would then be launched Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharastra. Inthe third phase, Andhra Pradesh , Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala and in the final phase West Bengal, North East and Orissa. The national roll out would be completed by March 2000, Puri said.