OPPO Electronics Corp. which is known for its world’s first rotating camera smartphone, has been given a green signal from the centre to expand its operations in India. The company will be capitalizing on the move by opening wholesale and single-brand retail store across the length and breadth of the country.
Recently, on June 20, 2017, NDA government has made some amendments in the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy of the country. As per the new norm, the government has eased the local sourcing norm for FDI in single-brand retail, hence, making the conditions more feasible for foreign companies.
In the latest version of the FDI policy, the Centre has tightened rules for firms producing items with cutting-edge and state-of-art technology— by granting them only a three-year waiver from the 30 per cent local sourcing norm. The tightening of norms is to ensure that they manufacture in India rather than rake in huge profits through mere trading. The FDI norms before June 20 had given a permanent blanket exemption from local sourcing norms for such companies producing items with cutting-edge and state-of-art technology.
OPPO Mobiles India Pvt. Ltd. quickly latched on to the opportunity and filed its application on June 30 before the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) – the nodal Central government agency on formulation and implementation of FDI policy as well as on retail trading, an official sources revealed.
However, the company didn’t response to any media quarries in this regards. If speculations are to be believed, the company is planning to install around 40,000 stores (company owned and franchise outlets) in the country by the end of the year. OPPO had officially set foot in the Indian market in January 2014 and unveiled in June the same year its ‘Find 7’ Android-based smartphone in the country.
