Samsung plans to triple handset base with Rs 332 crore Noida facility

NEW DELHI: Korean electronics major Samsung on Thursday commissioned a new unit to manufacture mobile phones in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, where it has invested $70 million (over Rs 332 crore), the company said.

Samsung is tripling its manufacturing base to 36 million phones a year as it strengthens its position in the Rs 30,000-crore domestic handset market. Presently, the handset maker is the second largest mobile phone seller by volumes in India.

The new unit has been created in a manufacturing complex which houses existing units that make mobile phones, flat panel televisions, refrigerators, air conditioners and washing machines.

The Samsung mobile manufacturing unit at Noida is the company's sixth plant overseas. The company is manufacturing multimedia, dual-SIM and touchcreen models at the Noida facility.

The new unit is capable of manufacturing 60 handheld models, including smartphones and tablets, which may further drive down prices, said the company's mobile and IT country head Ranjit Yadav. He also added that manufacturing of smartphones may begin by the end of the year. "We don't have any immediate plans to make tablets here, but there's a possibility in the future."