China’s Transsion in new round of talks on its first Egypt factory

China’s Transsion Holdings, owner of Tecno, Infinix, and Itel mobile brands, on Tuesday said it held new talks with Egyptian authorities, seeking to build its first factory in the country.

The Shenzhen-based company is seeking to build its first factory in Egypt, to be whether for manufacturing LED lighting, electronic products, or smart phones and tablets in Egypt. In mid-2016, the company signed a cooperation agreement with the Egyptian government to launch a production line in one of the country’s new technology parks, expected to be one in Borg Al-Arab in Alexandria.

“We are expecting to conclude our talks with the government (Ministry of Communications) at the end of next August,” Mahmoud Taha, head of marketing at Tecno Mobile Egypt, told Amwal Al Ghad on Tuesday.

Transsion’s officials have recently met with Egyptian Minister of Communication Amr Talaat to discuss to cooperate in manufacture smart phones in one of the country’s new technology parks, Taha said.

Solid design and low prices helped China’s Transsion Holdings overtake Samsung in 2017 to become the number one smartphone company by sales in Africa, with plans to make inroads into India.

The Chinese company has offices in Dubai, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Cameroon, and Becesngal along with a 280,000-square foot factory in Ethiopia, apart from factories in China. Ethiopia factory deploys around 1,000 people and exports mobile phones to Nigeria, Angola and Tanzania.

Transsion took an unusual route of ignoring the Chinese market to build its sales in sub-Saharan Africa, adapting low-cost phones to local tastes. For instance, its handsets feature multiple sim-card slots, camera software adapted to better-capture darker skin tones, and speakers with enhanced bass.