Apple Accelerates 탈중국 Strategy... "Foxconn to Make Additional Investments in India Production Base" (Comprehensive)

Foxconn Invests Additional $500 Million in Building Production Base in India

Foxconn, Apple's largest partner preparing to relocate its factory to India, is making a second large-scale investment in the country. Foxconn is securing a new production base in Karnataka, southern India, aiming to reduce uncertainties in its China operations amid escalating trade tensions between the United States and China.

On the 31st (local time), Bloomberg News, citing sources, reported that Taiwan-based Foxconn is planning to build two new component factories in India as part of its production base diversification strategy, with an investment of up to $500 million (approximately 640 billion KRW).

Foxconn's new factories are expected to be established in Karnataka, southern India, with one of the new factories producing components for the iPhone product line. Sources indicated that an official announcement regarding this plan could be made as early as this week.

Earlier, Foxconn Chairman Liu Yangwei visited India on February 27 and met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss investment cooperation plans, including the construction of new factories. Subsequently, in March, reports emerged that Foxconn is investing $700 million to build production facilities on a 300-acre (approximately 1.21 million square meters) site near Bengaluru Airport, the capital of Karnataka.

Bloomberg News projected, "With this additional $500 million investment, the total investment in the Indian factory construction is expected to reach $1.2 billion." It added, "Foxconn's expansion of investment in India reflects its move to relocate production bases outside China much faster than anticipated amid rising tensions between the U.S. and China."

Apple and its partners' move away from China accelerated due to supply chain disruptions caused by COVID-19 lockdowns and the Ukraine war. After workers at Foxconn's Zhengzhou factory in China, the largest iPhone production base, faced a surge in COVID-19 cases, government lockdown policies, and protests over working conditions in October last year, Apple demanded Foxconn to relocate production lines to India, Vietnam, and other locations.

As Apple focuses on India as an alternative to China, it recorded its highest-ever quarterly performance in the Indian market in the first quarter of this year. Apple CEO Tim Cook stated during the conference call after the first-quarter earnings announcement on May 1, "We recorded the highest-ever quarterly performance in India," adding, "We saw very strong double-digit growth compared to the same period last year." Although he did not disclose specific figures, he emphasized that "India is at a tipping point of rapid change." Apple’s second-quarter earnings will be released on the 3rd.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.