Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) said it is considering establishing a research and development (R&D) center in India to deepen its collaboration with Indian engineers.
“India has a strong and developed software industry with a high number of software talents. The nation’s economy has potential and the market there is growing,” Asustek spokesman Nick Wu (吳長榮) said by telephone yesterday.
Asustek said it has hired dozens of Indian software engineers to work at its headquarters in Guandu (關渡), in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), undertaking numerous software development projects based on India’s smartphone user experience.
The plan to establish an R&D center in India is still in an early stage and has yet to be finalized by the management, Wu said, adding that it is one of Asustek’s potential overseas investments.
The company has two overseas R&D centers, in China’s Suzhou and Hangzhou, employing more than 1,000 hardware and software engineers, it said.
Asustek plans to open its first flagship store in India later this year to expand its market share for all of its products, Wu said.
“Establishing brick-and-mortar stores in India is part of the company’s strategy to build and deepen the brand image there,” he said.
The store would be a marketing tool, as sales in India would still rely on online channels and partnerships with local retailers, Wu said.
India is among Asustek’s most important smartphone markets.
The firm shipped about 3 million handsets to India last year, accounting for 15 percent of its total smartphone shipments of 20 million units that year.
The company entered the Indian market in July 2014 and has a 2.5 percent market share, the company’s South Asia and country manager Peter Chang (張旗浚) said.
Asustek aims to increase the share to about 5 percent next year, Deccan Herald News Service quoted Chang as saying on Sept. 1.
Asustek on Friday reported revenue of NT$39.85 billion (US$1.26 billion) for last month, down 2.38 percent from last year’s NT$40.82 billion, but up 19.55 percent from the previous month.
The company attributed the monthly growth to increasing smartphone shipments.
Asustek launched its ZenFone 3 series in Southeast Asian markets, as well as India, last month.
The company expects revenue this month to continue to grow from last month on the back of the contribution from new smartphone models and notebook computers.
Accumulated revenue rose by 0.04 percent annually to NT$295.79 billion in the first eight months of this year, company data showed.
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