iPhone maker Foxconn plans to invest $700 mn in Bengaluru plant in a shift from China: Report

The Taiwanese firm, which is also recognized for its flagship entity Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., intends to construct the new facility on a 300-acre plot of land near the airport in Bengaluru to produce parts for iPhones, the report said citing people who requested not to be named.

As per some sources, the new factory may also be involved in assembling Apple's handsets, and Foxconn may also utilise the same location to manufacture certain parts for its newly developing electric vehicle enterprise.

The investment is one of the single biggest expenditures of Foxconn in India so far and highlights the increasing possibility of China losing its status as the top manufacturer of consumer electronics globally.

Sources stated that the new production facility is likely to generate around 100,000 jobs in India.

Currently, the company's massive iPhone assembly plant in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou employs about 200,000 individuals, though that figure increases during peak production periods.

However, China’s strict Covid rules hampered the plant’s output, which plunged ahead of the year-end holidays.

According to the Bloomberg report, the sources said that plans are still not final as Foxconn is still in the process of finalising the project's investment and other details.

It is also uncertain whether the factory will serve as an addition to the company's existing production capacity or whether Foxconn will relocate production from other sites such as its facilities in China, the sources added.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Friday said Apple smartphones will soon be built in a 300-acre factory in India tech hub Karnataka.

The factory might lead to creating 1 lakh jobs.

"Apple phones to be built in a new 300-acre factory in #Karnataka," the Indian minister tweeted.

"Double Engine Sarkar of PM @narendramodi ji n CM @BSBommai working to create investments n jobs n 1TrillionDollar Economy for Karnataka," the minister said.

Affirming Chandrashekhar’s announcement, Karnataka CM Basavaraj S Bommai retweeted the Union minister’s tweet.

It is worth noting that Hon Hai’s Chairman Young Liu also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week.

They discussed the various topics aimed at enhancing India’s tech and innovation eco-system, read a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office.

"Narendra Modi met with Mr. Young Liu, the Chairman of Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn) in New Delhi. They discussed the various topics aimed at enhancing India’s tech and innovation eco-system," Modi earlier tweeted.