BPL jt venture: Sanyo chief to visit

Sanyo Electric President Toshimasa Iue will visit India on March 27 to take stock of its recently formed 50:50 joint venture with the beleaguered BPL Group. Iue is the grandson of the late founder of Sanyo, Toshio Iue.

According to officials at Sanyo BPL, Iue is coming into India to have a first-hand view of the progress of the operations. The JV company wants to touch a turnover of Rs 2000 crore (Rs 20 billion) in three years and hopes to achieve 16 per cent market share in India.

Sanyo is looking at India as a growing market for colour television even as it scripts a massive restructuring plan globally. According to various reports, its CTV business is faring poorly. Recently, the corporation got a go-ahead for its $2.6 billion bailout plan.

According to officials, it is expected that the Indian firm will seek further funds to expand its operations, though no official confirmation was available on this. 

The joint venture is adopting a dual-brand strategy for Sanyo and BPL products. While the BPL brand will be used for the volume segment of CTVs, the Sanyo brand will be positioned at high-end segment of the market with plasma and hi-definition television.

The JV, started on a equity base of close to Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion), will offer the complete range of consumer electronics, home appliances and digital imaging products from the Sanyo stable.

While CTVs will be manufactured at the company's manufacturing unit in Bangalore, Sanyo BPL is looking at the option of relying on OEMs in North India. The JV will be a key sourcing base for Sanyo for the 21-inch super slim television set. The company is also looking at introducing CDMA handsets in due course.

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