Micromax to invest Rs 2,000 crore for expansion

HYDERABAD: Micromax, India’s second largest mobile handset company, plans to get into the production of mobile accessories including chargers and batteries, involving an investment of around Rs 2,000 crore over the next five years, cofounder Rajesh Agarwal said.

The statement comes a day after the homebred handset maker pronounced its aggressive play to topple leader Samsung in India, while unveiling a new brand logo and tagline strategy, apart form 16 new smartphones. Addressing the media in Hyderabad on Thursday after inaugurating Micromax’s second India manufacturing facility, set up at Rs 100 crore, Agarwal said the company is targetingRs 15,000 crore of sales this fiscal year started on April 1, up from Rs 12,000 crore last year.

Micromax has a share of around 14% in the domestic mobile handsets market of 220 million units and is eying around 20% by the end of 2017, he said.

The market, he said, is expected to grow by around 10%.

The company is weighing various options for mobilising funds for expansion, including an initial public offering, he said. Further, Agarwal added that the company was also open to inorganic growth through acquisitions and joint ventures in the electronics components manufacturing. It has plans to export to Africa and Europe.

The mobile handsets, televisions and tablets manufacturer is looking also at emerging as India’s first and largest indigenous mobile phone manufacturer by 2017.

It hopes to begin production of mobiles at two more facilities by end of the year, ramping up the local manufacturing to 5 million units a month from four facilities.