Foxconn to set up new plant in India

Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn has signed a deal with the government of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu to invest 16 billion rupees ($194 million) in a new electronic components manufacturing facility that will create 6,000 jobs.

Foxconn committed to establishing a cutting-edge electronic component manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu in the presence of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Thiru. M. K. Stalin on Monday, the state government’s nodal agency for investment promotion ‘Guidance’ announced on Twitter after the news was reported by various media outlets in the country. 

Commenting on the development on Twitter, Stalin said the parties have also discussed further investments in EV and electronic components. “Another milestone in our ambition to make TN the new emerging electronics manufacturing hub of Asia!” he added. 

The Taiwanese company also signed a research and innovation agreement with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras and Guidance to share knowledge and best practices in advanced technologies.

Foxconn Industrial Internet (FII), a China-based subsidiary of Foxconn engaged in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of electronic equipment, will build the new facility in the state’s Kancheepuram district. Construction work is likely to be completed by the end of next year. FII did not say if the new unit will make components for iPhones or for other firms.

Foxconn already operates a facility in Sriperumbudur near Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, where it assembles Apple iPhones. Foxconn Chairman Young Liu, who met with the Tamil Nadu chief minister during the day, said the facility currently employs around 40,000 workers. Foxconn planned to increase the workforce at its Tamil Nadu iPhone factory by four times in a push to diversify from China, Reuters reported last year. 

The deal comes three days after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced New Delhi’s bid to scale up incentives for semiconductor manufacturers at a conference in his home state of Gujarat. Young Liu attended the conference and shared the stage with Modi.

In India, Tamil Nadu occupies the top position for the export of electronic goods. In 2022-23, export figures surpassed $5.3 billion amid Stalin’s plan to turn the state into a trillion-dollar economy by 2030. The state is known as an automobile hub in India and also emerged as the major destination for electric vehicle manufacturers. 

Foxconn is also investing around $500 million to set up manufacturing plants in the southern Indian state of Telangana, the IT ministry of the state announced in May this year. Earlier, Bloomberg reported Foxconn was planning to invest $700 million in a new factory in Karnataka state. Earlier this month, Foxconn has pulled out from $19.5 billion joint venture with India’s mines-to-metals conglomerate Vedanta, but said it would continue exploring opportunities in India’s  chip-making industry. 

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