Xenitis to invest in Hooghly for expansion

Kolkata: Computer and bicycle manufacturer Xenitis has forayed into mobile phone manufacturing by floating a new company Xenitis Telecommunications. The company claims that in August it will launch the cheapest mobile handset in India for Rs 499.

The Xenitis group will be investing Rs 430 crore in next six months to expand its manufacturing facility at Sugandha in Hooghly, about 45 km from Kolkata, Mr Santanu Ghosh, Chairman and Managing Director of Xenitis, said.

“We have acquired 10 acres adjacent to our factory to expand our computer and laptop manufacturing units. We will acquire 10 acres more to house the mobile manufacturing unit. We will invest Rs 200 crore each in the two projects,” he said.

Xenitis will be supplying handsets to leading mobile manufacturers and service providers in the country, Mr Ghosh said, adding that it had already bagged orders for supplying 1,60,000 handsets a month of which 50,000 will be exported to Dubai and West Asia.

The company is currently engaged in assembling computers and is also into manufacturing computer components like cabinets, keyboards, SMPS, mouse and speakers. On Tuesday it also launched low-end laptops at a starting price of Rs 14,990.

The company’s branded-computer venture ‘Amar PC’ has not been successful and it is now shifting the focus to supplying other equipment manufacturers.

Xenitis recorded a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore last year and has a target of doubling it this year. The company’s expansion plans are expected to generate additional employment for 650 people in the next six months, Mr Ghosh said.