Foxconn will invest $600 million in two projects in India’s Karnataka to make casing components for iPhones and chip-making equipment, signaling its growing interest in the south Asian nation as it spreads bets beyond China.
Some $350 million will go towards setting up the iPhone component facility, which will generate 12,000 jobs, while Foxconn will tie up with Applied Materials in a $250 million project to make chip-making tools, Karnataka state said in a statement.
Reuters was first to report the investment plans on Wednesday. The state government said both projects were signed via so-called letters of intent, meaning final modalities could change.
Foxconn, which assembles around 70% of iPhones and is world’s largest contract manufacturer, has been diversifying production away from China amid COVID disruptions and geopolitical tensions.
The investment decisions follow a meeting between Foxconn Chairman Young Liu, Karnataka’s IT minister Priyank Kharge, and Industries Minister MB Patil.
“We are excited about the possibilities that Karnataka offers for our expansion plans in India,” Liu said in the statement.
Foxconn’s expansion in India is also the latest in a string of foreign companies – from Micron to Amazon – that are expanding and committing billions of dollars worth of investment in the coming years, placing a bet on growing consumption and demand in the world’s most-populous nation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also attracting investors for semiconductor manufacturing, which is his key business agenda currently.
In Karnataka, Foxconn will collaborate with Applied Materials on a project for making semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and create jobs for around 1,000 people.
Foxconn also has plans to apply for incentives under a $10 billion scheme by India’s government to promote chip manufacturing, and is in talks with Gujarat to set up a chipmaking facility in the western state.
Foxconn chairman Liu has been in India and been meeting officials in several states after attending the federal government’s flagship semiconductor conference.
India’s Tamil Nadu state has also announced that Foxconn will invest $194 million in a new electronic components manufacturing facility that will create 6,000 jobs.
Source : Reuters
This essay analyses the causes of, and remedies for, external imbalances, and what countries should…
Rising rates are testing Japan’s fiscal framework, with debt dynamics hinging on growth and pointing…
With a return to the pre-Iran conflict energy status quo unlikely, a Hormuz toll may…
US firms’ rise in EU asset management may weaken sustainable finance, making tougher stewardship, ESMA…
When global uncertainty increases, emerging markets are typically the most exposed. Historically, tighter US monetary…
Global imbalances are back, and the lesson from history is that they often end in…