Si2i aims to triple share of local smart-phone market
Singaporean telecom firm Si2i targets a 15-per-cent share of the Thai market for its S WellcoM brand of mobile phones by the end of next year, up from less than 5 per cent now.
Having acquired Thailand-based mobile-phone firm Wellcom in August and changing the brand name to S WellcoM, the company is focused on the smart-phone business in Thailand and aims to triple its market share here, Si2i global chairman Bhupendra Kumar Modi announced yesterday.
The firm plans to conduct marketing through local operators, set up a Thai app-development centre and invest more in expanding its distribution network throughout the country. Modi said Si2i was in the process of finalising its total investment for Thailand in 2012.
Si2i plans to start marketing S WellcoM in Thailand next month with the launch of a phone designed to cater specifically to users of Facebook and Google.
“Our strategy is to offer smart phones at affordable prices between US$40 and $50 [Bt1,255-Bt1,570] to people in 90 ‘i2i countries’, from Ivory Coast to Indonesia, most of which are developing countries with poor Internet infrastructure and low Internet penetration.
Our mission is to bring people in these countries to connect to the Internet via mobile phones,” Modi said.
The firm plans to launch between 20 and 25 S WellcoM smart-phone models in Thailand next year. It will work with local operators both to market its smart phones and to develop content and applications for Thais.
“We have to have the app-development centre here to work with local partners to develop local content and applications such as music, games, news and so on. We have an innovation centre in Singapore to conduct research and development for applications and software for smart phones,” he said.
Si2i plans to launch its own app store to offer free applications for Thais next month. With this latest move, Modi said, S WellcoM will become one of the major smart-phone brands in the Thai market.
