DHAKA, Jan 23, 2020 (BSS) – Local mobile phone brand, Symphony has eyed to
export smartphone by 2020 with “truly” Made in Bangladesh tag.
To this end, the brand is working to expand their existing plant’s
capacity along with setting up of another two plants, one is adjacent to
existing one while another at Bangabandhu Hi-Tech City in Kaliakair, Gazipur.
“By 2022, the new two plants are expected to go to production and we will
start export after meeting local demand,” said Jakaria Shahid, Managing
Director of Edison Group, the parent company of Symphony brand.
Symphony is assembling about 1.5 lakh pieces smart phones in a month in
their existing plant, located in Ashulia, outskirts of Dhaka and has been
meeting local demand from June last year.
“We are also assembling about 1.25 lakh pieces of feature of phone in a
month and planning to stop importing it at the end of this year,” said
Jakaria Shahid.
Shahid, also the general secretary of the Bangladesh Mobile Phone Importers
Association (BMPIA), however, said with the locally assembled, they are also
importing few lakh pieces of basic phones every month from China to meet
demand.
“We have stopped importing smartphone from last June and our target is to
meet the full local demand from our own plant, which is about seven to eight
lakh every month, by December this year,” he disclosed this to the members of
Telecom Reporters’ Network Bangladesh (TRNB) who visited and experienced
their smart phone manufacturing plant yesterday.
Symphony is holding about 30 percent market share in terms of volume that
were more than 40 percent only few years back. It is also planning to
assemble mobile accessories in one plant.
Edison Group’s total investment value is about Taka 100 crore for three
plants and is trying to create the total value chain for mobile assembling in
the market where all the working people have been recruited locally and that
is why they are saying “truly” Made in Bangladesh.
“We will develop software, develop necessary applications and games for
mobile sets, and plans to manufacture about two lakh pieces of accessories in
these plants,” Shahid added.
The Edison Group’s plant is now adding 20 percent value to their product
and aiming to add value up to 30 percent by next five years.
The government gave huge tax benefits for mobile assembling in fiscal 2017-
18 budget, resulting already seven plants established in the country while
another two plants will go for assembling at the quickest possible time.
Symphony, the first mobile brand of the country, established in 2008 is
now leading the market from last five years but are now shifted their
business from high end segment to middle class and they are now playing
mostly in Taka 4,000 to Taka 8,000 segment.
Md Maksudur Rahman, senior director of business operation of Edison Group
said in last two year they have achieved tremendous experience and
manufacturing best quality phones in their plant, and that’s quality is much
higher in China manufactured products.
Currently about ten crore mobile phones are being used in the locally, of
which about half are sold by Symphony, said M A Hanif, head of sale of the
company.
The handset industry sold about 3.10 crore mobile devices in 2019 where
Symphony contributed 80 lakh.
In 2018 country’s total sale was 3.20 core which was 3.54 crore in 2017.