Samsung reportedly looking to move more of its smartphone making business to India

• Samsung is reportedly looking to move more of its smartphone making business to India.
  
• A report by Economic Times, citing sources, says the company is looking to produce devices worth $40 billion and export those in the $200-plus range.
  
• The South Korean behemoth is in the middle of shutting down its manufacturing back home due to increasing costs of labour.
  

In search of cheap labour, the South Korean smartphone manufacturer, Samsung, is reportedly looking to move some of its production line to India. The Economic Times reported, citing sources, that the global giant is in the midst of finalising plans to produce devices worth over ₹3 lakh crore ($40 billion) locally.

The development comes as the smartphone-making behemoth is in the midst of packing up its manufacturing process back home due to increasing labour costs. As of right now, Samsung manufacturers nearly half of its phones in Vietnam. It also has manufacturing bases in Brazil and Indonesia.

According to the report, the company is looking to diversify its production lines for making smartphones in India under the Production Linked Incentive Schemes (PLI). The company did not respond to Business Insider India’s request for comment.

Samsung gets in line beside Apple to set up base in India
Samsung is among other smartphone manufacturers like Apple’s Foxconn and Wistron, who has filed an application with the government under the PLI scheme, according to IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

There has been a rush of contractors looking to shift bases as products from China come under more scrutiny across the world. India, alone, is the second-largest smartphone market in the world — one that manufacturers cannot afford to lose as India pushes the Atma Nirbhar agenda.

Looking for the export advantage
Samsung already has its largest mobile phone manufacturing unit in the world set up in Noida, from where it also exports to other countries. If Samsung were to expand its manufacturing base in India, most of the smartphones in the plus $200 segment will be exported — adding to India’s outgoing trade — according to the report. Currently, they only account for 2% of Samsung’s exports from the country.

This includes mid-range devices like the Galaxy A31, Galaxy Note 20 5G, Galaxy S10e, and others.

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