Like BBK Electronics that has popularized its trade with the sale of OPPO, OnePlus and vivo phones across different markets in the globe, Transsion, another Chinese tech corporation has grown its mobile business by selling cheap devices to emerging markets.
Transsion continues to reap the benefits of taking advantage of growing economies by distributing affordable devices, which include the likes of TECNO and Infinix. The two devices, as well as itel, are very common in Kenyan households, and will probably continue to be so in the foreseeable future, provided they remain price-sensitive to warrant their bang for the buck moniker.
Now, it has been confirmed by Tech Crunch that Transsion will list in Shanghai’s STAR market. It has also been reported that the device marker could amass up to $426 million from the IPO.
In the last couple of months, STAR has facilitated the listing of about 25 companies, most of which are tech-based.
Transsion’s main offices are in Shenzen, the same city that houses a logistics facility for Jumia, an e-commerce site that listed in the NYSE a couple of weeks ago to a poor start.
Besides selling phones in Africa, Transsion has also been making critical investments in the continent to expand its presence. For instance, it launched a manufacturing and assembly facility in Ethiopia.
Transsion has also been trying to make its name known in the Indian market, although residents of the Asian country prefers buying phones from Xiaomi and Samsung.
A substantial share of the raised funds from the IPO will be used to erect more manufacturing facilities. Transsion will also pump $62 million into research and development for mobile devices in Shanghai.
In Africa, people have more phones manufactured by Transsion than Huawei, although Samsung leads the pack. In fact, most dumb phones sold here are made by Transsion. Sales have been plateauing as people keep their devices for an extended period, although emerging markets continue to see impressive growth.
