Samsung Electronics is in advanced stages of setting up a smartphone display manufacturing plant in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh, according to India’s lead investment promotion body, Invest India. As per the letter seen by Reuters, the facility should be fully functional in 2021 and Samsung hopes to create 1,300 jobs with the new initiative.
An MoU was already signed with the government of UP in 2019 over the said facility and the smartphone major looks to invest 53.67 billion rupees ($705.75 million) into the project. Despite the plan, Uttar Pradesh’s minister for industrial development, Satish Mahana said the incentives were under consideration and a decision is yet to be taken.
Multiple sources have also confirmed that this project is a relocation of Samsung’s China display manufacturing operations which the company has slowly been shutting down since last year. Interestingly, Samsung is one of the key players investing in the Make in India campaign.
The Korean conglomerate has one of the world’s biggest mobile phone manufacturing plants in Uttar Pradesh. However, this would be the first time any display manufacturing will be done in India and this could bolster India’s hopes to become a global hub for smartphone manufacturing.
In return, Samsung would receive tax incentives and other incentives from the Indian government. This could further lead to Samsung’s smartphones becoming cheaper in India as the company is a major OLED display manufacturer. It is also a major supplier of displays and if the facility gets the green lights, Samsung could possibly expand these operations further to make even high-end curved OLED displays in the country.
Samsung has also been eyeing Vietnam as another potential manufacturing destination for itself as the company looks to exit China. Samsung has three OLED plants in China, nine plants in South Korea, and one plant in Vietnam.