Taiwan's Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer and supplier to Apple Inc, on Saturday signed a pact with Maharashtra to invest $5 billion (around `32,000 crore) over five years in a semiconductor manufacturing facility . Coming as it does eight months after Foxconn shut shop in Sriperumbudur near Chennai, it seems like a missed opportunity for Tamil Nadu.
The investment, touted to be one of the largest in Maharashtra, comes within a week of USfirm General Motors' $1-billion pledge to make automobiles in Maharashtra. It will also bolster Prime Minister Narendra Modi's `Make in India' campaign.
The MoU to set up the unit was signed in the presence of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Foxconn chairman Terry Gou on Saturday at the World Trade Centre here.
TOI had reported on June 14 that Foxconn, the trade name for Hon Hai Precision Industry that also counts Blackberry and Amazon as clients, was planning to invest in Maharashtra. Fadnavis said the Foxconn plant would generate em ployment for about 50,000 people. The company employs about 1.3 million people during peak production times, making it one of the largest private employers in the world.
The state government has offered 1,500 acres in the MIDC estate at Talegaon near Pune. The unit will manufacture for the local market as well as exports, which will be helped by the proximity of the proposed Navi Mumbai international airport.
Gou said Foxconn was looking for local partners for the Talegaon facility but declined to say if the Taiwanbased company would make mobile phones there. Gou, who met Fadnavis seven times in the last two months alone, attributed state leadership and progressive response from the government for choosing Maharashtra over other states.
India could help Foxconn mitigate accelerating wage inflation in China, where it makes the majority of iPhones, and base production sites closer to markets where its key clients want to grow.With $20 billion of investments lined up for India alone, Foxconn is in talks with other states to set up manufacturing units and forge possible partnerships in the world's fastest growing smartphone market.
