Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Foxconn, the world’s largest electronics manufacturer, on Monday proposed to invest Rs. 1,600 crores in Tamil Nadu to build an electronics component facility that would likely employ about 6,000 people.
Foxconn signed an agreement in this regard after a recent meeting with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin.
This is the first major investment in India by Hon Hai Technology Group, as the Taiwanese major is formally known, after it parted ways with the Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Group on a USD 19.5 billion chip-making joint venture in Gujarat recently.
Brand Cheng, CEO of the Group’s subsidiary Foxconn Industrial Internet (FII), had earlier this month met with Chief Minister Stalin and Industries Minister T R B Rajaa. FII had also proposed to set up a unit in Tumakuru, Karnataka, with an investment of Rs 8,800 crores, the media reported.
“Foxconn’s continued investments and expansion plans in Tamil Nadu are a testament to the southern state being the top choice for manufacturing in India for major global companies. This is a major achievement for the state,” said Rajaa about the latest agreement.
Tamil Nadu has witnessed a two-fold increase in electronic exports, from USD 1.86 billion in 2021-22 to USD 5.37 billion in 2022-23. The southern state ranked fourth as an exporter of electronic goods after Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra in 2021-22.
“Manufacturers who have seen tremendous success in Tamil Nadu over the past few years know they could gain more by investing in the state. With this proposed investment by Taiwan, this state is emerging as the top electronics exporter in India. It will play a significant role in attaining the Chief Minister’s ambition of a USD 1 trillion economy in Tamil Nadu,” Rajaa said.
Foxconn entered the Indian market in April 2006, as a manufacturer for Nokia in Chennai. Its subsidiary, FIH Mobile, had set up three facilities – two at Sriperumbudur and one at Sunguvarchatram.
After Microsoft acquired Nokia in 2014, Foxconn announced to wind up operations in Chennai, but it returned as an Apple manufacturer. The Group has nearly a dozen subsidiaries in India.
After its Group Chairman Young Liu’s India visit in March this year, Foxconn announced two major investments in Karnataka and Telangana. Last year, the company announced to invest USD 500 million in India to expand production.
As part of these plans, the Taiwanese major has acquired 20 acres of land and is building a workers’ hostel near its facility in Tamil Nadu’s Sriperumbudur. It is likely to increase its staff at the facility unit from 15,000 to around 18,000.