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EXCLUSIVE: Hisense wants to build Android phones in South Africa

Electronics company Hisense isn’t content with just manufacturing large Ultra HD TVs at its Cape Town plant. At the launch of its latest monster set last week, the company confirmed to htxt.africa that it’s also planning on building Android handsets here too.

There’s no confirmation of which models or when, but deputy managing director at Hisense South Africa, Ebrahim Khan, said that the that the Chinese state-owned company is working on feasibility studies for ramping up production soon. He confirmed that there is expansion capacity at the Cape Town plant in place, but the initial plan will be to increase production of refrigerators and televisions.

TVs are an especially strong part of the Hisense portfolio in South Africa, as the firm already commands a 38% market share for large screen HDTVs of between 50- and 65-inches.

While it isn’t a major player in the South African phone market as yet, Hisense already sells a number of Android devices in China and other countries. Screen sizes for Hisense phones range from 3.5-inches to 5.5-inches, and like compatriots at Hauwei it’s price rather than specs that are its strength.

The company is going to be entering a fiercely competitive market, however. We’re aware of sub-R700 smartphones that are in the works from at least two of the major mobile networks, which will be white labelled reference designs from chip manufacturers. In addition, local companies Seemahale Telecoms and CZ Electronics Manufacturing are working on a locally designed and built handset too.

And don’t discount the 1000 ton gorilla in the room to watch out for too. We have it on extremely good authority via a source at the heart of the company that Samsung is keeping a careful eye on manufacturing opportunities for smart devices in South Africa too. That’s the news to really watch out for, if it happens.

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