New Delhi, Oct 1 (IANS): Taiwanese tech major ASUS said on Thursday it has partnered with Foxconn to manufacture ASUS smartphones in Sri City in Andhra Pradesh.

"In a strategic move to expand presence in India, ASUS will kick-start its manufacturing operations with Zenfone 2 Laser which will soon be followed by ZenFone Go," a company statement said.

The company aims to manufacture 150,000 smartphones per month by the end of the current financial year, which will account for almost 80 percent of sales in India.

"India offers us a huge opportunity as smartphone penetration is just 10 percent. We are excited to announce our local manufacturing facility that will cater to the growing demands of the market," said ASUS India's regional head (South Asia) and country manager, system business group, Peter Chang.

"The Indian government's focus on 'Make in India' has opened a plethora of opportunities for international companies. It is an opportune time to make the announcement as it will enable us to bring our cutting edge products to consumers who are looking for features and design sensibilities of a high-end smartphone at an economic price," he added.

Noting the company is aggressively targeting the Indian market, Chang added: "We aim to achieve 5 percent market share in the country by next year and empower all our customers with luxury."