Xiaomi starts assembling mobile phones

Smartphone giant Xiaomi announced that it had began assembling mobile phones in Bangladesh.

The factory in was set up with $10 million in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) under the "Made in Bangladesh" scheme.The factory will assemble 3 million units of smartphones annually.

The Chinese brand is also eyeing local production soon, said Xiaomi Bangladesh officials. DBG Technology BD Ltd, a leading Chinese electronics manufacturing service (EMS) company, will assemble the smartphones in Bangladesh.

Xiaomi revealed its "Made in Bangladesh" plan at a special programme. Salman F Rahman, adviser to the prime minister on private industry and investment, and Zunaid Ahmed Palak, state minister for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Division, attended the event. Salman F Rahman said the partnership with Xiaomi will create more employment opportunities for the youth in Bangladesh. "We are delighted to be a partner in setting up Xiaomi's first manufacturing unit in Bangladesh as part of the Digital Bangladesh initiative. We believe that this partnership will create more opportunities for the country's youth and establish a world-class electronics manufacturing ecosystem," he said.He urged the Chinese company to make Bangladesh a hub to produce their IT and electronic devices.

Mobile handset manufacturing and assembling began in Bangladesh in 2017 when Walton started producing electronic products locally. Later, cellphone giant Samsung as well as Symphony, and other brands started manufacturing in the country.With Xiaomi's new factory, there are now at least 10 local and global companies that are producing smartphones in Bangladesh.

As of now, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission has issued 14 licences for setting up mobile manufacturing and assembling factories in Bangladesh. Market insiders say Nokia is also expected to set up a factory in Bangladesh, but the brand has not announced anything yet. Currently, there is a demand for 32 million units of mobile, of which 12 million units are smartphones, says Bangladesh Mobile Phone Importers Association (BMPI). According to Statcounter's data, Xiaomi is now the second top mobile brand in Bangladesh's smartphone market, having around 20% of the market share, while Samsung is in the top position with 30.46% share.