The Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi is reportedly planning to invest a part of the capital it raised from its recent IPO, into its Indian operations.
The purpose behind this move is to build the ecosystem of internet services, make more startup investments and build India-specific IoT devices as stated by company’s India head Manu Kumar Jain. Along with this, the smartphone maker is also expecting to foray into the premium smartphone space in India which is currently being led by another Chinese giant OnePlus.
“Some part of the global expansion money will be spent in India,” Jain stated in his first press interaction following the IPO. “We have had a great journey for smartphones, powerbanks and for Mi.com in India, but we can do a lot more on internet services, startup investments and building IoT devices that are India specific,” he added.
He also said 30% of the $4.5 billion that was raised in the IPO last month will be utilized for major R&D (research and development), 30% on building the IoT platform, another 30% for international expansion and the remaining 10% for miscellaneous expenses.
Xiaomi’s business in India is already profitable and stated that it did not need significant external investment, but this investment will surely lead the growth of the Chinese phone maker in the Indian market.
The company has been lately setting up a host of internet services in India, comprising of apps such as MiMusic and file-sharing app Mi Drop as well as its MiBrowser and MiStore shopping apps. It has also recently launched MiCredit in India that offers loans up to Rs 1 lakh.
“We realise that the time has come to focus on higher-end segments. We had to choose our battles and took a conscious decision that if we have to win in India we cannot be far from the average selling price,” Jain added. “It is important for us to be number 1, but if in one quarter we are not number 1, we don’t lose sleep over it.”
Xiaomi has made investments in 10 startups in the country, such as Sharechat (a social networking app), Hungama (a digital content platform), and Krazybee (a lending startup). And, it has already launched products in partnership with these companies.
It seems that the Indian operations of the giant Xiaomi are expecting to boost up in the country. The already emerging player in India is ready to see much greater heights.