HTC is reportedly preparing itself to bid for Nokia's manufacturing plant in Chennai, a city in southern India, after the completion of Microsoft-Nokia deal if the Finnish maker puts it up for sale.
Microsoft confirmed it will officially complete the Nokia acquisition Friday, April 25, after receiving necessary regulatory approvals, Monday. Besides Nokia, another smartphone maker is closely watching the deal. According to The Times Of India report, HTC, the Taiwanese smartphone maker, is planning to purchase a manufacturing plant in Chennai, India, which is currently under Nokia's ownership.
The national newspaper also noted that the move will strengthen HTC's roots in India and help reach new customers directly. The Chennai plant will not be taken over by Microsoft due to tax issues with Indian authorities that are still unresolved. The massive $7.5 billion worth acquisition by the Redmond software giant covers Nokia Devices and Services business, licenses, patents and mapping services. Last minute changes in the finalized agreement include acquisition of Nokia's Korean manufacturing facility, but there was no mention of the Indian manufacturing plant.
HTC Chief Financial Officer, Chia-Lin Chang, expressed his interest in Nokia's Chennai plant.
"I am happy to look into it, because the overall preparation, exploration hinges upon if it will serve consumers better. If that [plant] will do that [serve consumers better], then we would be happy to look further into it," Chang told ET, TOI reports.
Nokia's plant in Chennai is one of the largest owned by the Finnish maker, which employs about 20,000 workers. The exclusion of the Chennai plant in the Microsoft deal caused a wave of distress among the workers, which also resulted in a strike last year. But the legal tax issues couldn't reach a conclusion before the scheduled date for the completion of the deal. The finalization of the deal, which was initially announced last September, was expected to be completed in the first quarter this year. But it was put on hold due to pending approval from some Asian market regulators.
In a separate report The Times Of India says that Nokia might make the Chennai factory a contract-manufacturing plant post Microsoft acquisition. If so, then HTC's purported plans to secure a prominent place in India will be crushed, forcing the Taiwanese tech giant to look for alternate ways to reach out to its customers in emerging markets like India.
