Foxconn proposes to invest Rs 8,800 cr for another manufacturing plant in Karnataka

Apple's largest iPhone assembler Foxconn has proposed to invest Rs 8,800 crore for another manufacturing plant in Karnataka, the state's Large and Medium Industries Minister M B Patil said on Monday. "Karnataka Welcomes Foxconn Industrial Internet (FII) Company's Mega Investment (Rs 8,800 crore), Boosting Tech Sector and Job Opportunities (14000-plus)," the minister said in a tweet.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah chaired a high-level meeting with the delegates of Foxconn Industrial Internet (FII), headed by its CEO Brand Cheng in this regard, Patil said.
 
As per the proposal, FII, a subsidiary of Foxconn, has a plan to invest Rs 8,800 crore. "This would create 14,000 jobs and the land required for the project is about 100 acres," the minister said. The delegates of the FII would be taken to Tumakuru to examine the available land at Japan Industrial Township near the district headquarters town.

Patil said that the state was 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. "Foxconn Industrial Internet (FII), a global leader and maker of network devices for IIoT-based smart manufacturing, aims to revolutionize the tech industry by developing high-quality outer covers for iPhones," he said.

Karnataka's Information Technology Minister Priyank Kharge was also present at the meeting. "FII will engage in manufacturing screens, and outer coverings apart from making mechanical components needed for phones. This would operate as a supplementary plant to the 'end assembly' unit at Devanahalli (ITIR)," the minister said in a statement.

Last week, Patil said the process of handing over land to the Taiwanese electronics manufacturing giant for its mobile devices manufacturing unit at Devanahalli ITIR was in the "final stages". 

"Foxconn is coming up in about 300 acres. The process of handing over land is in the final stages, there were some issues, so I have personally held meetings four times in this regard, as we did not want to lose the project. Foxconn, which manufactures Apple phones, is very prestigious for us," he said. "Foxconn will invest USD one billion, which is Rs 8,400 crore, and will create 50,000 employment in the first phase (at the Devanahalli ITIR)," Patil had said.

Foxconn was recently in the news after it pulled out of a semiconductor joint venture with Vedanta. The Taiwanese major later said that it parted ways as the project, which was signed in September last year, was moving very slowly. "There was recognition from both sides that the project was not moving fast enough, there were challenging gaps we were not able to smoothly overcome, as well as external issues unrelated to the project," the chip major said.

Days after this, Foxconn reportedly told the government that it wants to establish at least four to five semiconductor fabrication lines in India. Another report said that Foxconn was discussing partnership deals with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and Japan’s TMH Group for technology for setting up semiconductor fabrication units in India. Foxconn and TSMC are both based in Taiwan. The report further said that the company was likely to soon finalise the details of the partnership to manufacture both advanced and legacy node chips. 

(With inputs from PTI)