Tech Biz
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-Alap Naik Desai
A subsidiary of Foxconn is reportedly planning to invest up to $200 million to set up a plant of electronic components in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Multiple officials from the Taiwanese electronics manufacturing giant have been actively engaging with the state government’s top bureaucrats, presumably to fast-track the project.
Foxconn may have backed out of its joint partnership with Vedanta for a semiconductor manufacturing plant in India, but the company is actively seeking to deploy more factories in the country. Let’s look at the latest developments to figure out if Foxconn is moving beyond assembling Apple iPhones in India.
Foxconn Subsidiary Meets Tamil Nadu CM To Discuss Investment In The State
Foxconn Industrial Internet (FII), a wholly owned Foxconn subsidiary is in talks with the Tamil Nadu state administration. The company intends to invest up to $200 million in the state.
In the initial phase, Foxconn wants to reportedly build a new manufacturing plant for electronic components. Brand Cheng, CEO of FII, along with other company representatives met with Tamil Nadu officials including its chief minister to discuss investments in the state, confirmed the state government via an official statement.
The new manufacturing plant would be Foxconn’s second one in the state of Tamil Nadu. The company has a sprawling and buzzing campus near Chennai, where it assembles iPhones for Apple Inc.
Neither Foxconn nor the local government has offered any details. However, a few reports suggest Foxconn aims to complete the plant by 2024. Moreover, the company is eager to make additional investments.
What Will Foxconn Manufacture In The Rumored New Factory In Tamil Nadu
As the talks are still in the preliminary stage, neither of the parties is willing to go into any detail. However, FII makes communication, mobile network, and cloud computing equipment.
Simply put, FII has a completely different focus compared to its parent company. Regardless, both parent and subsidiary companies are deeply involved in contract manufacturing and assembly for their multiple partners.
Foxconn may have walked away from the proposed semiconductor and display production facility it was supposed to build with oil and steel giant Vedanta. However, the company is quite interested in India as the country is increasingly perceived as a reliable manufacturing and assembly hub away from China.
It appears the company wants to build its own semiconductor manufacturing plant. Micron could most probably be the first company in India to set up a mega-factory for producing semiconductors, but multiple foreign companies are closely watching the developments.
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published: Friday, July 28, 2023, 11:23 [IST]