Samsung resumes Bangladesh production, plans local phone launch in January

Samsung has resumed manufacturing operations in Bangladesh after a hiatus of about 18 months, with locally produced smartphones expected to return to the market in January next year.

The restart signals a renewed push in Bangladesh's electronics manufacturing sector, where Samsung was the first global smartphone brand to assemble handsets locally through Fair Electronics.

Production of Samsung refrigerators has already begun at the company's factory in Shibpur, Narsingdi, while washing machine production is scheduled to start in September. Air conditioners, televisions and smartphones are expected to enter production in early 2027.

The South Korean ambassador to Bangladesh, Jijoon Kim, announced the development during his visit to the factory today (22 july). During a visit by South Korean Ambassador Jijoon Kim to the factory today. Samsung Bangladesh Managing Director Jungmin Jung and Fair Group Chairman Ruhul Alam Al Mahbub accompanied him during the tour.

According to Fair Group, it became Samsung's official distribution partner in Bangladesh in 2014, established a local manufacturing facility in 2017 and launched the country's first locally manufactured Samsung smartphones in 2018.

The group has invested around Tk1,000 crore in electronics manufacturing, including about Tk300 crore in smartphone production. The facility has an annual production capacity of around 2.5 million mobile phones.

Photo: TBS

Fair Group is currently manufacturing products under China's Hisense brand while restarting Samsung production. The company plans to produce around 150,000 refrigerators annually under the two brands by 2027. At present, it manufactures between 40,000 and 50,000 Hisense refrigerators a year.

A visit to the factory showed refrigerators being assembled through automated production lines, with processes ranging from metal body fabrication and component assembly to foam insulation, compressor installation and final quality testing.

Mohammed Mesbah Uddin, chief marketing officer of Fair Group, told TBS that Samsung smartphone production remained suspended from mid-2024 through the end of 2025 as the business environment became challenging following the sharp depreciation of the taka in 2023.

"Effectively, it became very difficult to continue business operations during that period," he said.

He said Fair Group had planned to revamp its operations in 2025, but the process He stated that Fair Group had intended to revamp its operations in 2025, but the process fell short of expectations. as expected. With conditions improving this year, the company has restarted production.

Mesbah said the transition of the market from 4G to 5G devices also required technological upgrades and new machinery, contributing to delays in restarting smartphone production.

While the factory is capable of producing 2.5 million handsets annually, he said the company does not expect to utilise its full capacity in the first year after resuming operations.

Speaking to journalists after touring the facility, Ambassador Kim described Fair Electronics as a successful example of technology transfer, local manufacturing and industrial cooperation between Bangladesh and South Korea.

He said Bangladesh's large and hard-working workforce, combined with Korean technology and investment, gives the country the potential to become a regional manufacturing hub for Korean companies.

Fair Group Chairman Ruhul Alam Al Mahbub urged the government to take stronger action against grey-market and unofficial mobile phone imports, saying a supportive policy environment would accelerate local manufacturing, attract investment, increase government revenue and create jobs.

Samsung Bangladesh Managing Director Jungmin Jung reaffirmed the company's long-term commitment to Bangladesh and its partnership with Fair Electronics in expanding local manufacturing while maintaining Samsung's global quality standards.