Foxconn unit in talks for $200 mn components plant in Tamil Nadu: Reports

A Foxconn subsidiary is in talks with India’s Tamil Nadu state to invest up to $200 million to build a new plant for electronic components in the southern region, two sources with direct knowledge told Reuters on Wednesday.

Brand Cheng, CEO of Foxconn Industrial Internet (FII), and other company representatives last week met Tamil Nadu officials including its chief minister to discuss investments in the state, the government said in a statement after the meeting, without elaborating.

FII, which makes communication, mobile network and cloud computing equipment, has shared a plan with state officials to initially invest $180 million to $200 million in the facility, said one of the sources.

Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer, and a spokesperson for Tamil Nadu’s industries department declined to comment.

Foxconn already has a sprawling campus near Chennai city in Tamil Nadu where it assembles Apple’s iPhones.

The sources, who declined to be named as the talks are private, did not elaborate on the plan or say if parts made at the proposed facility would be used in iPhones or another company’s products.

Foxconn aims to complete the plant by 2024, with further investments expected afterward, the first source said.

A final decision has not been made, both sources said.

Foxconn is also in talks with western Gujarat state as it eyes entry into India’s semiconductor sector. Its chairman Young Liu is expected to speak at an annual semiconductor event hosted by the government this week.

Last week, Karnataka state government in south India said it held talks with FII, which had committed to invest $1.07 billion for a new plant.

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai and Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Sarah Wu in Taipei; Editing by Aditya Kalra and Richard Chang)