Wistron keen to expand presence in Bengaluru

Taiwan-based original design manufacturer Wistron, which started assembling Apple phones in Bengaluru recently, plans to team up with the Karnataka government for its expanded footprint in the state.

Wistron Chairman Simon Lin and Smart Products Head David Shen along with other company delegates met state Industries Minister R V Deshpande and IT, BT Minister  Priyank Kharge on Saturday .

Interacting with DH, Deshpande said that Wistron officials discussed some new investment  opportunities in the area of electronics and waste management in Karnataka.

“We are pleased with Wistron’s decision to come to Bengaluru and assemble the iPhone in India. I assured the delegation to give fullest support and cooperation from the state government side,” he said.

DH recently reported that Wistron received certification from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to manufacture the iPhone SE from an assembly facility in Bengaluru. The company is assembling the iPhone SE, the smallest screen mobile from Apple.

Lin is a farsighted technology businessman who recently launched a $20-million venture capital fund with the Silicon Valley-based Fenox Venture Capital to access and work with the top technology companies from around the world.

Wistron officials said that Lin is satisfied with the ecosystem in Bengaluru and would like to further enhance its investment. “We have manufacturing, service and research and development service factories in 25 locations worldwide. In India, being a big market, we would like to further deepen the collaboration,” he said.

Wistron’s majority share of revenues come from PCs, which accounts 45% in 2016. The company also manufactures servers, notebook PCs, storage systems, LCD TVs, IA (information appliances), handheld devices, networking, communication and IoT devices.

Lin, during the last analyst call, said that from 2017 onwards, the company will change its portfolio bigger than ever. “We expect smart devices this year to reach 20%, or more than 20% possibly, in our business portfolio. It was 16% last year,” he said.

Wistron’s net profit more than doubled to 2.96 billion New Taiwan dollars ($96.93 million) on revenue of NT$659.9 billion, up 5.88%.