High Tech Computer (HTC) does not have a plant in Brazil, but instead only has EMS provider Celestica assembling its handsets for the Brazilian market, said company CFO Hui-ming Cheng.
Cheng was responding to a Tech Guru report that HTC had opened a plant in Jaguariuna, Brazil, manufacturing its own-brand Kaiser, Excalibur and Shift series. The report said the new plant meant that HTC might continue expanding its overseas facilities.
But Cheng stressed that HTC's strategy of having Taoyuan, Taiwan as its main product base remains unchanged.
The CFO said HTC, in order to avoid Brazil's high tariffs, has teamed up with Celestica, shipping components to Brazil for the EMS partner to assemble there. The handsets assembled by Celestica will be only marketed in Brazil, and the volume will only account for a very small portion of overall HTC production, Cheng added.
The vast majority of HTC handsets are still manufactured in Taiwan, and a small portion of products are made at its plant in Suzhou, China, Cheng said.
But industry observers said HTC's latest partnership with Celestica demonstrates the handset vendor's ambition for the South American market, a region where the company has been relatively weak.
The observers expect HTC's own-brand business to further take off in 2007, accounting for 40-50% of the company's output.
Article translated by Rodney Chan and edited by Michael McManus
