‘Made in Bangladesh’ Honor smartphones aim to scale production, target exports

The ‘Made in Bangladesh’ smartphone initiative by international brand Honor is emerging as a potential catalyst for the country’s electronics sector, as the company scales up local production with an eye on exports.

Md. Zahirul Islam, managing director of Honor Bangladesh, said operations began with an initial target of about 1,500 units per day. The factory currently assembles imported components, but plans are in place to add four production lines within a year.

“Once these new production lines are operational, our annual production target will scale to over 500,000 units,” he said.

Abdullah Al Mamun, general manager of Honor Bangladesh, said the company’s ambitions extend beyond domestic demand. “We have a concrete roadmap to export these devices to South Asia and neighbouring countries,” he said, naming Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka as the first target markets.

He said the preparations are focused on expanding production capacity, installing advanced machinery, and drafting long‑term export strategies.

Management expects to move from assembly to full‑scale manufacturing within six months, with work under way on technical training and local supply‑chain development.

Experts note, however, that full manufacturing requires more than assembly lines. It demands advanced quality control, Surface Mount Technology (SMT), chipset integration, and local production of batteries and other components — plus highly skilled engineers and technicians.

Mamun said specialised training programmes are being run to upskill local staff, combining hands‑on training by foreign experts with modern production technology.

“Our plant utilises AI‑supported automation to perform hardware testing and software calibration on every device. We deploy advanced AI sensors to verify camera focus and battery efficiency,” he said.

The facility enforces a “Zero Defect” policy aligned with Honor’s plants in China and meets Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) standards, he added.

Analysts warn that continued reliance on imported critical parts would limit real value addition and raise production costs, putting pressure on foreign exchange reserves.

Seyed Almas Kabir, former president of BASIS, urged government support to make local manufacturing competitive, including temporary relaxation of local value‑addition rules.

“Currently, if a company wishes to export, it must demonstrate a 30% local value addition on the product. The government should temporarily slash this threshold to 5% for the next few years,” he said.

Kabir also called for lower import duties on raw materials, saying without such measures a robust export industry will not materialise.

He added that consistent quality, efficient logistics and reliable after‑sales service will be essential for successful market entry abroad.

He added that overcoming these hurdles, combined with seamless quality consistency, would attract other foreign investors from the global export market to Bangladesh.

Faruk Hasan, senior marketing manager at Honor, said export potential is central to the factory’s long‑term plan, with sights set on South Asia, the Middle East and selected African markets.

Stakeholders said scaling local smartphone production could boost employment, skills development and foreign direct investment, potentially positioning Bangladesh as a South Asian electronics manufacturing hub — provided policy support, sustained investment and capacity building continue.

The ‘Made in Bangladesh’ Honor venture, they say, is more than a commercial project; it is a test of the country’s broader ambitions in technology and industrialisation.

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