ZTE seeks more time to open India facility

NEW DELHI, INDIA: As the Ministry of Communications and IT is getting aggressive to encourage domestic manufacturing of telecom equipment, ZTE Corporation, which provides network solutions and telecom equipment, said that they need more time from the government to setup manufacturing operations in India.

In an interaction with CIOL, Cui Liangjun, CEO of ZTE India, said that India is a strategic market for them and the company will continue with the development work in the country with an emphasis on localization of business, technical experts, equipment production as well as local service.

"We understand that the Government of India has plans to bring a law encouraging telecom equipment manufacturing in India and hence we have a domestic manufacturing strategy in place," he said. The company has been into the process to set up manufacturing facility for quite sometime.

ZTE has undertaken steps like market research, the scale analysis, review of local policies and is in the process to select appropriate location. However, the company didn't disclose the exact nature of products to be manufactured in the country.

The telecom equipment major is currently negotiating with its local partners and searching for a suitable location to set up manufacturing facility in the country. "We always strive to build an excellent relationship with our Indian partners and customers as well as the government and the society at large," he said.

Of late, ZTE, which is China's largest listed telecom company, was among those who got the attention of the government's security concerns. "We have simultaneously been trying to promote our brand image along with our market position and our operating performance," Liangjun said.

'Telecom equipment industry under developed in India'

The company believes that telecom equipment industry is under developed in India and the electronic parts supply chain is relatively weak. On account of this, the vendors will need to import the components in the initial stage of production, thereby increasing the costs.

"We hope that the Indian government gives enough time for us to build the manufacturing facility," he added. ZTE also thinks that the government will consider the situation and accordingly formulate the new policy.

The ZTE group’s revenue from its international operations grew 27.45 per cent in 2010. Recently, the company has been ranked second by the World Intellectual Property Organization with more than 1,800 international patents.

ZTE took its first step to globalize its operations in 1995 and set up branch offices in Indonesia. The company operates through subsidiaries in close to 100 countries and serves about 500 operators in 140 countries.