Samsung is going to establish a handset manufacturing facility in Bangladesh as part of its plans to broaden its presence in the Indian sub-continent and take advantage of growing demand for affordable low-end smartphones.

The Korean tech giant will officially announce the opening of its Samrtphone manufacturing unit in its Narshingdi factory tomorrow (Tuesday) at a press briefing.

Samsung last year had inaugurated a plant in Shibpur upazila of Narsingdi district in a joint venture with Fair Electronics, a local Bangladesh company to manufacture televisions, refrigerators, microwave oven and air conditioners for the local market.

Smartphones will be the fifth product the company will produce here in Bangladesh.

At present, Samsung grabs the largest chunk of Bangladesh’s increasing smartphone market with around 46 per cent market share. Chinese brand Symphony is its close competitor with 37 per cent stake at the market.

While Samsung and Symphony is on head to head competition, Huawei is steadily marching to the third spot. This brand has hastily opened franchise shops around the country, making it available to customers.   

Talking with The Independent, Ruhul Alam Al Mahbub, Chairman of Fair Group said, even though Samsung has been enjoying the leading position in the smartphone market, it has been facing some stiff competition from the emerging Chinese high-end brands.

“The usage of smartphone will only increase in Bangladesh, so I believe it is the best time to start manufacturing it here,” he said.

Mahbub said the 7,50,000 sq ft plant will employ at least 3000 Bangladeshi workers has state-of the art facility. “It will be able to produce two million handsets per year,” he said.

He said the initiative can encourage other global brands to follow suit and park their funds in Bangladesh.

Samsung's first factory in the subcontinent was in India's Uttar Pradesh in 1997, where it assembles mobile phones, refrigerators and LED TVs.

And in November 2007, it set up another plant in Tamil Nadu, where it manufactures LED TVs, washing machines, refrigerators and split air conditioners.

Since its founding in Korea in 1969, Samsung Electronics has grown into a global information technology leader, managing more than 200 subsidiaries around the world.

EA