Foxconn invests Rs 1,600 crore in Tamil Nadu to manufacture mobile components

Key Apple Inc supplier Foxconn Technology Group on Monday pledged to invest Rs 1,600 crore in setting up a mobile components manufacturing unit in Tamil Nadu’s Kanchipuram district, which will provide jobs for 6,000 people.

The investment was finalised at a meeting between Foxconn Chairman Young Liu, who is on a visit to India, and Chief Minister M K Stalin at the Secretariat here, following which the Taiwanese electronics major and the Tamil Nadu government signed a Letter of Intent.

Foxconn will set up a state-of-the-art greenfield manufacturing unit to produce components for mobile phones, a source in the know told DH, adding that the new facility will be independent of Foxconn factory in Sriperumbudur that currently assembles flagship Apple iPhones for the domestic and international markets.

Also Read | Foxconn to invest Rs 1,600 crore in Tamil Nadu for component manufacturing

“The company has identified private land in Kanchipuram district and will begin the process of setting up the unit very soon,” the source added.

“Thank you Honourable Chief Minister and Government of Tamil Nadu. We are committed!,” Lee V, Foxconn Representative in India, posted on his LinkedIn page on Tuesday morning with pictures of the MoU signing ceremony and Liu’s Chennai visit.

Foxconn’s announcement comes two months after global technology giant Cisco chose Chennai for its first India plant to manufacture network switches and routers and within days of another Apple supplier Pegatron Chairperson T H Tung indicating expansion of its Chennai facility.

“We also discussed further investments in EV and electronic components. Another milestone in our ambition to make TN the new emerging electronics manufacturing hub of Asia,” Stalin said after meeting Liu.

In a rare interaction with the media, the Foxconn chairman said he visited the company’s Sriperumbudur facility that employs about 40,000 people and indicated that the technology giant will invest more in Tamil Nadu in the future given the ecosystem that is available for the electronics industry.

“There are six to seven buildings that are under construction at the facility. It is going quite well and definitely we can do more in the future. This (Sriperumbudur) is the largest site we have (in India). We can do large scale production in Tamil Nadu, and also (get involved) in research and development,” Liu said.

The top executive of Foxconn said the company was “still working” on investing in the semiconductor sector in India after it pulled out of the joint venture with Vedanta.

“Foxconn’s repeated investments and expansion plans in Tamil Nadu are a testament to the state being the top choice for manufacturing in India for major companies across the world. This is a major achievement for the state,” Industries Minister T R B Raaja said.

With this proposed investment, and many more to come, Tamil Nadu is poised to not only remain the top electronics exporter in the country, but also significantly increase its electronics exports in the coming years, the minister added.

The development also comes close on the heels of the state emerging as the no.1 in the country in electronics exports at USD 5.37 billion in 2023 fiscal, moving from the fourth position in fiscal 2022.

Foxconn has significant presence in Tamil Nadu with its Sriperumbudur plant assembling high-end iPhone 14, and iPhone 13, even as the company continues to expand the massive facility, 50 km from Chennai, further as Apple Inc plans to move a significant portion of its China operations to India. It is also planning to assemble iPhones in Karnataka and Telangana.

The development also comes close on the heels of the state emerging as the no.1 in the country in electronics exports at USD 5.37 billion in 2023 fiscal, moving from the fourth position in fiscal 2022. Ramping up and launch of production by Foxconn, Pegatron, and home-grown Tata Electronics Private Limited (TEPL) helped the state pip Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra, officials said.

The state, which is already home to top 16 electronics manufacturers, including Nokia, Samsung, Flex, Dell, Motorola, Salcomp, HP, and Foxconn, wants the electronics industry to be on par with automobiles that accounts to 37.6% of the country's automobile and auto component exports, apparel (30.8 percent) and footwear (46.4 percent).

The state has two exclusive Special Economic Zones (SEZs) for Electronics and Hardware manufacturing in Sriperumbudur, 50 km from here, and in Oragadam, 70 km from here, spread over 800 acres.