Samsung Invests Rs. 517 Crores for Expansion of Noida Facility

Tech giant Samsung on Tuesday said it has invested Rs. 517 crores on manufacturing facility at Noida to ramp up capacity and strengthen its position in one of the world's fastest growing smartphone markets.

Samsung India Electronics, which has been present in India for 20 years, has three research labs and two manufacturing plants in the country with a total of 45,000 employees.

"Samsung has invested Rs. 517 crores for the expansion of the Noida plant under the UP Mega Policy, reaffirming Samsung's commitment and contribution towards India's manufacturing sector," it said in a statement.

The South Korean firm will also manufacture its Tizen OS-based 'Samsung Z1' at the facility.

Samsung India has also invested in a modern training facility spread over 35,000 square feet within its manufacturing premises to focus on capability building and skill enhancement of its employees.

"Uttar Pradesh is one of the most important states for Samsung and the expansion of the Noida Mobile unit will further strengthen our presence in the country and enhance our manufacturing operations," Samsung India Electronics President and CEO Hyun Chil Hong said.

"The Noida mobile factory is a star performer and rates as one of the best facilities across the globe. Currently, over 11,000 Samsung employees are working in UP and we are looking forward to create more job opportunities in the state," he said.

According to research firm IDC, India is the fastest growing smartphone market in the Asia Pacific region with about 82 percent growth in the July-September quarter of 2014 over the same period last year. The growth is being driven by increasing preference of consumers to upgrade to smartphones as well as shorter refresh cycles.

The shipments grew 82 percent year-on-year to 23.3 million units in the third quarter of this year, while it was higher by 27 percent on a quarter-on-quarter basis, IDC said in a statement.

Samsung was the leader in the smartphone market with 24 percent share, followed by Micromax (20 percent), Lava and Karbonn (8 percent each) and Motorola (5 five percent) in the third quarter of 2014.

The total handset market (feature and smartphone) in India grew 9 percent to 72.5 million units in the said quarter, while it was higher by 15 percent quarter-on- quarter.

In the overall market, Samsung led with 16 percent share, Micromax 14 percent, Nokia 11 percent, Lava 10 percent and Karbonn at 8 percent.