D-Link''s subsidiary forms JV with Mercuries Data Systems

Mumbai: Cashing in on the growing need of automated teller machines (ATMs) in India, networking solutions major D-Link India has entered into a joint venture with Taiwan-based Mercuries Data Systems (MDS) to manufacture and sell a range of ATMs in India.

Under the agreement, which was signed between Lanner Electronic India, a subsidiary of D-link India, the companies will make and distribute ATM machines from D-Link's facility in Goa.

To facilitate this, the companies have also formed a new joint venture firm, Mercury Link Systems, which will invest an additional Rs 5 crore in the Goa facility. "India is the fastest growing ATM market in the world and is only second to China, which has prompted us to set a manufacturing base here," says K R Naik, managing director, D-Link India.

The joint venture partners expect to sell around 1,000 ATMs per year and garner over 15-25 per cent marketshare within the next one to two years of operation, he says. The companies are also planning to make India a hub for its manufacturing activities and service the Asia-Pacific region from the subcontinent.

D-Link India, which mainly services the small office home office (SOHO) segment, had earlier signed a partner deal with Lanner Electronics of the US for manufacturing ATMs from a facility in Taiwan. D-Link has a 49-per cent stake in Lanner Electronics India.