Monday, September 29, 2014: Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative is aimed at developing India as a manufacturing hub and now Japanese electronics giant Sony has expressed keen interest in taking active part in it. Sony is planning to re-establish a factory in the country as the enthusiasm factor of the company has received a huge boost.
While talking to The Times of India, Sony India MD Kenichiro Hibi stated, “Sony is committed to the Indian market and we welcome the recent initiatives by the Indian government, including inviting foreign companies to manufacture in India. While no decision has been made yet, initiatives like these have made Sony’s management enthusiastic about looking at India as a potential manufacturing base.” Sony used to have manufacturing facilities in India but they were shut down in 2004. Imports started from Thailand, Malaysia, China and Japan based manufacturing facilities as the small-scale production facility in India was not profitable enough for the company.
But Sony’s Indian market has seen a huge growth in recent times while response is not the same from the West. Sony’s market rivals, like LG and Samsung, have already built manufacturing units in India. Hibi is quite impressed with the new government’s “progressive steps”. Now, with the latest plans, Sony is expecting 20 per cent increase in revenues this year, reaching up to Rs 120,000 million.
