Bangladesh's smartphone city gathers China makers

DHAKA－Kohinoor Akhter Shikha never thought that she could someday make smartphones in her neighborhood.

But it was a dream come true for Shikha when a Chinese conglomerate built a huge mobile handset manufacturing plant near her home in Bangladesh's textile hub of Gazipur on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka in 2018.

"I'm very happy to be able to work here," said Shikha, a Transsion Bangladesh employee. "Here, both smart and keypad phones are made."

To stay ahead of competition, Chinese manufacturer Transsion has been continuously introducing new products to consumers in Bangladesh.

Since its establishment in the Bangladeshi market in 2017, Transsion has gained a large share of the country's mobile phone market within a short period of time. Now, Transsion is aiming to increase its share of Bangladesh's growing smartphone market with its handset assembly plant in Gazipur.

Transsion has managed to have a strong presence in both the feature phone and smartphone segments. It has its own assembly plant in Gazipur with a 1,000-strong workforce.

Once a textile manufacturing hub, Gazipur is now called a city of smartphones with local and foreign companies, including leading Chinese manufacturers Transsion and Xiaomi, employing thousands to work in their Gazipur plants.

Willy Cui, general manager of Transsion Bangladesh, said the local factory was officially put into operation in September 2018, producing and assembling Transsion's mobile phones.

Currently, Transsion has six production lines with an annual capacity of more than 5 million smartphones in the 6,500-square-meter plant in Gazipur.

Promoting employment

In addition to promoting local employment and improving the skills of local industrial workers, Transsion also actively participates in the local community.

Mosammat Kamrunnahar works in the quality section of Transsion Bangladesh's plant. "I have a diploma in electrical and electronics and I'm very happy that I've got a job here," she said. "I'm very happy that they have created such a wonderful workplace."

Rezwanul Hoque, chief executive officer of Transsion Bangladesh, said hundreds of people work at Carlcare, the customer service brand of Transsion, across the country to meet after-sales needs. Transsion has gained a good reputation for its high-quality products, rapid response to the market and flexible production capacity.

He said Transsion's new plant has a total investment of 140 million yuan ($20.73 million) in the first phase, covering an area of more than 16,000 square meters. "Transsion is the largest foreign-invested enterprise in the economic zone," he added.

Hoque said the new plant is expected to be ready for operation by the end of this year and will provide 2,500 local jobs.

Xinhua