Contract electronics manufacturer Wistron Corp (緯創) said that it plans to build its third overseas production plant in India to tap into rapid market growth in the country.
However, the company, which has already established overseas production bases in China and India, declined to comment on whether its expansion plans are due to rising demand from major smartphone clients such as Apple Inc.
The company’s India strategy is centered around forging ties with local partners through acquisition deals, Wistron chief executive officer Robert Huang (黃柏漙) told investors at the company’s annual general meeting in New Taipei City.
“We hope to collaborate with local brands and create new solutions for cloud computing and smart manufacturing that are designed specifically for the Indian market,” Huang said.
The company would also assist prospective partners with its production management and software development capabilities, he added.
It has been transitioning from its core businesses of PCs, servers and computer displays to areas with higher margins, such as enterprise cloud services, Internet of Things devices, medical devices and electric vehicles, Huang said, adding that these efforts are expected to begin bearing fruit this year.
Wistron chairman Simon Lin (林憲銘) said he is upbeat regarding China’s electric vehicle market after forging a partnership with NIO (蔚來汽車), a Chinese start-up that has emerged as a competitor to Tesla Inc.
Propelled by ambitious carbon emission reduction targets, Beijing has ordered Chinese carmakers to meet increasingly stringent standards, Lin said, adding that those who have failed to do so have been ordered to make electric vehicles a bigger part of their total production output.
That poses a tremendous opportunity for suppliers, as many Chinese carmakers are not yet ready to make their own electric vehicles, he said.
Wistron aims to secure its place in the Chinese electric vehicle supply chain, and continued industry-wide efforts to standardize components would allow the company to serve more carmaker clients going forward, Lin said.
Shareholders yesterday approved the company’s plan to distribute dividends of NT$1.5 per share, of which NT$1.2 would be cash, with the remainder to be paid out in shares.
The company posted net income of NT$3.88 billion (US$129.6 million) last year, up 31.22 percent from NT$2.96 billion a year earlier, with earnings per share of NT$1.48. In the first quarter this year, net income rose 65 percent annually to NT$899 million, or NT$0.34 per share.
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