Coolpad to invest $300 mn in India

NEW DELHI: Chinese handset-maker Coolpad will invest over $300 million in manufacturing, R&D and design in India in order to support government's Make in India program.

The company has also announced its partnership with Videocon to manufacture smartphones in India and is expected to roll out half a million devices from its facility in Maharashtra.

Coolpad will bring in its 20 years of expertise and experience to this venture. The first made in India Coolpad phone will be available in the first quarter of next year 2016.

"We started business in India in 2007 with sale of first mobile phone with CDMA and GSM sim support in partnership with Reliance Communications. This is first time we are launching smart devices in our own brand name," said Coolpad Group Chief Financial Officer Jiang Chao.

“We are happy to announce that we will manufacturing Coolpad smartphones from our State-of-the- Art facilities in based at Maharashtra and we expect to roll out about half a million devices in Q1 of 2016. The "Made in India" Coolpad phones will bring a great value proposition to consumers through an exciting, trendy and futuristic range of products. This exclusive partnership also serves as a testimony of Videocon’s and Coolpad’s commitment to offer the best quality product. The above partnership is in - line with the Indian government Vision of “Make in India” and such projects and partnerships will bring big business and employment opportunities in the country,” said Abhijit Kotnis, COO for Manufacturing Operations, Global Sourcing, Videocon Industries.

Meanwhile, it has also launched its first fingerprint smartphone called Coolpad Note 3 for Rs 8, 999 on Amazon.in for Indian consumers. Coolpad Note 3 will be available in India from October 20, 2015 onwards exclusively on online marketplace Amazon.in.

Coolpad Note 3 is equipped with 5.5 inch HD screen, bundled exclusively for the Indian market. The device is upgraded with 3GB of RAM along with 16GB of in built storage which supports 4G LTE, 3G and GSM network frequencies along with a dual-SIM slot.

It features a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera with LED flash and auto focus alongside a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. Both the front and rear-facing cameras feature CMOS image sensor for better image quality and powered by a 3,000mAh battery.