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HYDERABAD: LG Electronics India Pvt. Ltd, (LGEIL) today announced that its GSM mobile handset manufacturing plant in Pune would produce 20 million handsets by 2010.
Half of these 20 million handsets would be exported while the rest is for domestic consumption.
LG's manufacturing plant currently consists of an assembling unit. The company is inviting component manufacturers from across the world to set up ancillary industries.
H S Bhatia, product group head - national, GSM Mobile phones, LGEIL, said, "We are inviting component makers from Korea and other places, and within the next three to four months we will start real production of handsets."
Bhatia also projected that by the end of financial year 2005-06, the company would be producing three lakh handsets. It is presently assembling around 50,000 handsets and is exporting to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.
LG is also exploring markets in MiddleEast, Africa, etc., for business development.
According to Bhatia, LG has so far invested US $35 million of which US $5 million was earmarked for R&D, whereas the rest was allocated for setting up the plant.
"We intend to make the Indian development center as the R&D software hub. The 300-odd professionals are contributing to the global product development," said Bhatia.
He further added that in 2005, 52 percent of the mobiles were black & white handsets, and their number is likely to dwindle down to 35 percent in 2006.
"We don't have any black & white handsets, and so, the addressable market is for the 48 percent color handsets, where we presently have 4 percent market share," Bhatia added.
Earlier, LGEIL launched a promotional scheme offering a set of amplifier speakers free for customers with its new model, the G1800 handset, which is priced at Rs 5,990. While the G1800 is titled the Music Phone, the same offer is available for the G200, which is priced at Rs 5,490, called the FM Music Phone.
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