Apple supplier Foxconn to set up new plant in India

FII makes electronic devices, cloud service equipment and industrial robots. It was not immediately clear if the new Indian plant would make components for iPhones or for other firms, or both

Taiwan's Foxconn, which is the world's largest assembler of iPhones, has signed a deal with Tamil Nadu to invest 16 billion rupees (€176m) in a new electronic components manufacturing facility that will create 6,000 jobs, the government of the southern Indian state has said.

The Foxconn FII plant will be built near the state capital of Chennai, and will be separate from the sprawling campus near Chennai where Foxconn assembles iPhones for Apple, sources said. FII makes electronic devices, cloud service equipment and industrial robots. It was not immediately clear if the new plant would make components for iPhones or for other firms, or both. 

"This is a major achievement for the state," Tamil Nadu Minister for Industries TRB Rajaa said in a statement, after Foxconn chairman Young Liu and other representatives met with state officials including its chief minister.

Mr Liu told reporters in Tamil Nadu that Foxconn currently employs about 40,000 workers in its facility near Chennai. Foxconn has plans to quadruple the workforce at its Tamil Nadu iPhone factory by late 2024 to spread its bets beyond China, Reuters reported last year. 

Mr Liu has been in India to attend the federal government's semiconductor conference that ended on Sunday.

Foxconn also signed a research and innovation agreement with the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and the state government's investment arm Guidance. The partnership aims to bring more high-value tech to the state via Foxconn. 

The Foxconn subsidiary has been in talks for some time with Tamil Nadu about the components investment, with the company aiming for the plant's completion in 2024.