Foxconn invests $500m in Indian unit after disruptions at Chinese iPhone factory

Taiwan’s Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics maker, said on Thursday that its Singapore unit had acquired 4.08 million shares of Foxconn Hon Hai Technology India Mega Development Private Limited for $500 million (about Rs 4,100 crore).

The announcement of a $500 million injection into its India unit comes after Reuters reported last month that Apple supplier Foxconn plans to quadruple the workforce at its iPhone factory in India over two years. , with two government officials familiar with the matter reporting an adjustment in production. as it faces disruption in China.

Foxconn plans to increase the workforce of its factory in southern India to 70,000 by adding 53,000 more workers over the next two years, sources said.

The company has shared its plans with Tamil Nadu officials regarding accelerating its hiring efforts at the Indian factory due to disruptions in China, according to a government source, while a person in Taiwan with knowledge of the Case said Foxconn was expanding operations in India to increase capacity for base models and to meet Indian demand.

Officially called Hon Hai Precision Industry, Foxconn opened the Indian factory in 2019 and increased production. It started producing the iPhone 14 this year.

Foxconn, which has made headlines in recent weeks for imposing strict COVID-19 restrictions at its factory in China’s Zhengzhou, which has caused unrest at work, said on Thursday the factory had lifted its restrictions. closed-loop management.

Last month, Apple’s Taiwanese contractor Pegatron reportedly started assembling the new iPhone 14 in India. Foxconn and Pegatron are both producing Apple’s latest iPhone 14 handset in India, the former started assembling the smartphone in September.

Apple, headquartered in Cupertino, California, has been betting big on India since it began assembling iPhones in the country in 2017 via Wistron and later Foxconn, in line with the government’s will. Indian to manufacture locally.

JPMorgan analysts estimate Apple could manufacture one in four iPhones in India by 2025 as the tech giant moves some production out of China, amid growing geopolitical tensions and strict COVID-19 lockdowns. 19 in the country.

© Thomson Reuters 2022

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