Billions Of Dollars Of India Investments On The Cards: Foxconn CEO

A senior executive of electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn reportedly believes that the company could potentially invest billions of dollars in India if it is fully able to implement its plans.

“Foxconn annual revenue was $200 Bn. From the perspective of India’s potential market size and if we can fully implement our plans there, several billion dollars in investment is only the beginning,” said Young Liu, the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the parent company Hon Hai Technology Group.

As per news agency PTI, he made the comments during a post-earnings call for the second quarter earnings call on Friday (August 11). 

On the growing scope of India in the company’s operations, he said that India-related questions frequently came up during investors’ calls during the last two quarters, pointing towards a ‘positive energy in the country.’ He added that there was a lot of investment potential in the country.

Meanwhile, Liu said that the company’s Indian arm achieved an annual turnover of $10 Bn at the end of the second quarter, reiterating that its capex would grow year-on-year (YoY) during the current year. He also noted that Foxconn India’s metrics such as revenue, number of employees, and investments have grown ‘exponentially’ since foraying into India. 

On the company’s operations in the country, Liu said that Foxconn operated nine campuses that housed 30 factories in India.

Amid reports that the Taiwanese major was looking to foray into EV manufacturing, Liu said that the company was mainly engaged in the information and communication technology assembly business currently. He, however, noted that the company would ‘actively deploy work’ in the areas of key components to shore up its competitiveness in the country. 

Meanwhile, the Apple vendor continues to ramp up its focus in shoring up its capacity in other Indian states, particularly the southern parts. The company noted that it was looking at expanding operations from existing facilities in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to Karnataka, Telangana and other states.

The Taiwanese company also said that it was working closely with the Centre and state governments to establish ‘industrial parks’ and ‘optimise (the) business environment in terms of infrastructure, policies and laws’.

Earlier during the day, it was also reported that iPhone maker Apple would commence the production of its AirPods at Foxconn’s Hyderabad facility by December next year. This follows a recent announcement where Foxconn said that it would invest an additional $400 Mn in the state of Telangana.

India continues to be the contract manufacturer’s new focus due to geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington DC.

In May year, Foxconn commenced the construction of its $500 Mn manufacturing facility in Telangana’s Kongar Kalaan. Right afterwards, the company also held deliberations with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin to set up a potential unit in the state.