Telephone Shilpa Sangstha (TSS) will start manufacturing and assembling laptop and notebook computers in the country within six months in collaboration with a Bangladeshi IT company and a Malaysian equipment manufacturer.
Under the joint venture initiative, the highest price of a laptop or notebook will be Tk 15,000.
The decision came at the weekly cabinet meeting at Bangladesh Secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
The meeting approved a proposal to merge TSS Ltd, the state-run telephone equipment manufacturer, with 2M Corporation Ltd, Dhaka and TFT Technology, Penang, Malaysia for assembling and production of laptop and notebook.
TFT Technology Group is a leading original equipment manufacturer of audiovisual products and computer peripherals including LCD monitors, LCD TVs and integrated home theatre solutions while 2M Corporation is a trading house and service provider of renewable energy, hi-tech security and surveillance products.
The decision was taken with an aim to make laptop and notebook available to common people in rural areas as part of the government’s pledge to build digital Bangladesh.
The joint venture company, to be named as TSS-2M-TFT, will manufacture laptop and notebook in three sizes–8.5″, 9.5″, 12″ and the highest price will be Tk 15,000, prime minister’s Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad told reporters after the meeting.
Total capital for launching the project has been fixed at Tk 148 crore in which TSS will have 30% share, he said adding this initiative will create employment opportunities and also save foreign currencies.
Talking to The Daily Star, Mesbah Ahmed, managing director of 2M Corporation, said the laptop and notebook will be manufactured maintaining international standards. “The prices of the notebook and laptop will be less and their quality will be better than other similar items in the market.”
It would take at least six months to sell laptops and notebooks in the market because TFT would take at least two to three months time to bring machinery and set them up in the TSS factory in Tongi, he said.
TSS’s existing infrastructure will be used to manufacture laptops and notebooks.
“Primarily we will be manufacturing 5,000 laptops and notebooks per month although the government’s desires of supplying 10,000 units a month,” said Mesbah.
The initiative was taken a year back but remained stalled due to bureaucratic tangles, he said.
“After getting the official order, we will formally invite TFT to set up the machinery,” he added.
