Foxconn more popularly known as the company which manufactures iPhones in the Indian subcontinent is planning to invest further $1.6 Billion in India. The investment will be directed towards making of heavy manufacturing and production facilities across the nation.
The announcement, made in an exchange filing in Taiwan late Monday, didn’t give any further details, saying only that the investment was for “operational needs.” A spokesperson for the company declined to say where the new facilities would be or what they would build.
About half of Foxconn’s revenues comes from business with Apple Inc. The company has been making iPhones and other products in India for several years, including the latest iPhone 15.
In September, a Foxconn representative in India said on LinkedIn that the Taiwanese company plans to double the size of its business in the South Asian country.
Is there a political angle to Foxconn’s pivot?
The world’s largest contract manufacturer of electronics intends to double its workforce and investment in the country within the next year. This strategic move is part of Foxconn’s broader efforts to diversify its manufacturing operations away from China.
The conditions have not been the same between USA and China. Several implications from both the countries have been making business difficult for many companies.
According to experts, China has become a monopoly country for many companies and countries and Beijing is carving their own advantage out of it. Foxconn might just be the first of the behemoth domino behind.
Foxconn is optimistic enough to look beyond China. Apart from China if there is anyone who could compete with the huge demands of business it has to got be world’s most populous country; India.
More details about the investment from Foxconn
India’s Karnataka state government in August announced that Foxconn planned to invest $600 Million on two component factories in the southern Indian state. That included a plant that will make mechanical enclosures for iPhones and a semiconductor equipment manufacturing plant it will operate with Applied Materials Inc, the government said at the time.
The announcement from Foxconn for additional investments comes at a time when the Indian government has been strongly focusing on bringing the global value chain for mobile phone and other hardware manufacturing in the country.
The company has been making iPhones in the country for several years now including the latest iPhone 15, and is also a beneficiary of the smartphone production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme.
Foxconn currently has sizeable operations in Tamil Nadu, with its facility employing up to 40,000 people. Lately, Apple has also been vocal about shifting some of its iPhone production out of China to India and Vietnam following severe supply disruptions.
“India has now reached a population of 1.4 billion people, translating to a large potential market for mid-to-high-end products which our clients are focusing on. Hence, it is necessary for us to continue to expand assembly and component operations in India. We see that more and more suppliers are investing in establishing plants in India and believe that this will become more prominent as time goes on,” Foxconn chairman Young Liu had said earlier.
Earlier this year, the company acquired 300 acre land in Bengaluru rural district for Rs 300 crore. Separately, in May Telangana government also said Foxconn will invest $500 Million (around Rs 4,115 crore) in setting up manufacturing plants in the state.
It was not immediately clear if the latest investment announcement is to cover those projects or additional ones. Foxconn already operates nine production campuses and more than 30 factories employing tens of thousands of people in India, where it takes in around $10 billion of revenue annually.
The Taiwan based company is also planning to double their employment by this time next year. Their facilities will help more than 1,00,000 Indians; which will be a huge boost for the country.
