Andhra CM, Xiaomi VP Hugo Barra to launch 'Made in India' phone

Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Xiaomi global vice-president Hugo Barra will launch the Chinese firm's first "made in India" phone in Visakhapatnam on Monday.

The event will also see Xiaomi making announcements about its expansion plans in India.

Xiaomi, the third largest smartphone-maker in the world, chose Visakhapatnam for the launch of its first made-in-India phone following Naidu's visit to China earlier this year.

The programme in Visakhapatnam will also be attended by department of industrial policy and promotion secretary Amitabh Kant and Xiaomi India CEO Manu Jain. Barra will speak on the "journey of Xiaomi in India".

A Xiaomi official said: "Given that global smartphone sales are estimated to grow from 1.5 billion in 2015 to 1.7 billion by 2017 and India will become the second largest smartphone market by 2017 after China, Xiaomi is looking to expand its presence and increase its market share in the country.'

A hoarding put up by Xiaomi with the "Make in India" logo at Visakhapatnam airport on Sunday, followed by a Facebook post by Barra, sparked speculation that the Chinese firm would set up its first India plant in Andhra Pradesh.

Posting a picture of the hoarding on Twitter, Barra said: 'Good morning Vizag! Xiaomi is about to take a giant leap forward in India.'

India is one the fastest growing smartphone markets globally. According to research firm CMR, 19.5 million smartphones were shipped in India in the March 2015 quarter.

Xiaomi, which entered the market last year, said it has sold one million units till the end of 2014.

While it forayed into the Indian market through the online route in partnership with ecommerce giant Flipkart, Xiaomi has gradually expanded availability with Snapdeal and Amazon and through its online store early this year.

It has also started selling its smartphones at brick and mortar stores through partners like Mobile Store, Airtel and Redington.