Chinese manufacturer of smartphones Xiaomi starts production in India

The Chinese manufacturer of smartphones Xiaomi said on Thursday that it will invest more and will start local production within a period of 12 to 18 months in India, one of the fastest growing markets and currently dominated by Samsung Electronics and local companies like Micromax.
The Chinese company of five years of existence, whose name means "little rice", entered the Indian market in July last year and is characterized by cheaper devices, but with several features and that proved a success, with sales of more than 1 million telephones in five months.
"We want to invest deeply in this market, we have a significant amount of research and development here--not just for India, but for the rest of the world," said Brazilian Hugo Barra, Vice President of international operations of Xiaomi.
The Xiaomi, which is already the fifth-largest phone company in the Indian market, are evaluating various locations to establish a factory and is in talks with local partners and State Governments, said Bar, adding that the process should take at least a year.
Bar's comments illustrate how important it is to the Indian market for Xiaomi, valued at 45 billion dollars after a round of funding in December, said Neil Shah, a researcher at consultancy based in Bombay Counterpoint Research.
Bar did not say how much the Xiaomi is prepared to invest in India, its largest market outside of China, but said that the company is seeking to put money in start-up companies and service centres.