Samsung manufactures a variety of products in India, including but not limited to television sets. However, a new report suggests that the company is looking to stop TV production in the country in favor of imports. Samsung is said to be working out plans to import TVs from Vietnam instead of manufacturing them in India. The company is reportedly considering this move merely months after the government levied an import duty on a key component and other parts that are required for manufacturing TVs.
Import duty on key component to blame
The factory in Chennai is where Samsung makes its televisions with an annual production yield of about 300,000 units. Sources told a local publication that Samsung has mentioned to some of its suppliers that it plans to limit and eventually end production of TV sets at the factory.
Some might find it interesting that Samsung is looking to end TV production in the country not long after it announced a massive expansion of its handset manufacturing facility. It's ramping up the annual handset production capacity in India from 68 million units to 120 million units.
On the other hand, Vietnam is one of Samsung's top manufacturing bases where analysts estimate the company manufactures over $50 billion worth of goods. If the company does end TV production at the factory in Chennai, it would then meet the demand by importing manufactured TV sets directly from Vietnam.
According to sources cited in the report, Samsung is considering this decision after the government imposed an import duty on “open cell,” which is one of the most crucial parts in TV panels.
“Samsung remains deeply committed to India. As regards to your query, no decision has been taken so far,” was the response from a spokesperson for the company when asked if Samsung is moving out TV production from the country.
