New Delhi, July 18 (CNA) Foxconn Industrial Internet Co. (FII), a subsidiary of Taiwan-based manufacturing giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., will build a factory in a southern Indian state to make iPhone components, according to an official from the Indian state.
In a Twitter message dated Monday, M. B. Patil, Karnataka minister of large & medium industries and infrastructure development, said FII, a Shanghai listed subsidiary of Hon Hai, will invest 88 billion Indian rupees (US$1.07 billion) in the Indian state.
Patil posted photos showing him meeting with FII Chief Executive Officer Brand Cheng (鄭弘孟) and his team to discuss the investment.
Patil described Hon Hai as a global leader and maker of network devices for industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)-based smart manufacturing, which aims to "revolutionize the tech industry by developing high-quality outer covers for iPhones."
"The state is ready to provide full support, offering land required to set up the manufacturing unit, in the 100 acres of land available in the Japanese industrial Park near Tumakuru," Patil said.
The official did not say what kind of components will be produced there.
The Deccan Herald, an Indian news outlet, recently reported, however, that FII is expected to produce components such as screens and casings in India to be used in iPhone assembly, which will also be done in India.
It said Hon Hai is expected to invest 130 billion rupees in an iPhone assembly plant in Devanahalli, in a rural area just north of Bengaluru in the state of Karnataka, that would begin production in April 2024.
Hon Hai, better known as Foxconn internationally, is one of the most important iPhone assemblers for Apple Inc. The American consumer electronics brand accounts for about 40 percent of Hon Hai's total sales.
