The $5-billion Chinese telecom equipment company, ZTE Telecom, has planned to set up a mega equipment manufacturing hub that will have, among other things, an annual manufacturing capacity of 40 million handsets targeting the global telecom market.
The 30-acre hub, besides manufacturing GSM and CDMA handsets, will come up with facilities like WiMax-enabled handsets and equipment, BTS (base transceiver station), switches and other telecom components.
The Chinese major has decided to invest around $50 million for the project. The company expects another $200 million investment from component manufacturers, who will partner ZTE in this venture.
ZTE has seven manufacturing hubs in China which supply GSM and CDMA handsets along with other telecom equipment, like switches, to all the major operators and equipment companies. Besides China, ZTE has manufacturing units in Brazil and Russia.
DK Ghosh, chairman & managing director of the company, said eight states are in competition to have the project and West Bengal is one of them. He declined to name the other states, but said the consideration will be based on whoever provides the best infrastructure and other concessions.
“I have already spoken to chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, and we will decide on the place by December this year,” said Ghosh.
Ghosh said that around 500 people would be engaged in the hub.
At present, ZTE has a handset manufacturing facility at Maneswar in Himachal Pradesh. The three-acre unit facility has a capacity to make one million sets per anum.
“India’s cost structure is becoming competitive and we want to make it a global manufacturing hub,” Ghosh said.
ZTE’s handsets are sourced by all the mobile telecom operators in India, Ghosh said. The company is planning to enter the Indian branded mobile market in a big way using ZTE’s brand name.
ZTE’s Indian revenue touched $600 million with a projection of $1 billion by the end of the current year compared with its global revenue of $8billion.