New | India’s mobile phone makers woo Chinese firms in push to develop manufacturing hub

India’s mobile phone makers are looking to turn the country into a manufacturing hub for the devices by 2019 with the help of their Chinese counterparts.

A delegation of 14 CEO and founders of leading Indian mobile phone makers attended the recent China Business Forum in Shanghai as part of a government-led initiative to develop the industry in India. 

“We are here to tell the Chinese mobile industries that Indian mobile market is 100 per cent open to them for investment and manufacturing,” Pankaj Mohindroo, national president of the Indian Cellular Association (ICA) and leader of the delegation, told the South China Morning Post in a recent interview.

“To combine India and China's advantages in mobile assembling, manufacturing and design, together we can shake up the world's largest mobile market.”

He said the mission is to engage Chinese mobile makers to help establish a mobile handset manufacturing eco-system in India. The plan is an initiative of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has just completed a visit to China where he met top leaders. More than 20 agreements on bilateral trade and investment worth US$10 billion were signed.

Of the around 200 million mobile phones sold in India last year, about 25 per cent are smartphones, according to the ICA. South Korea’s Samsung topped the smartphone segment with about a 25 per cent share, ahead of local maker Micromax.